On the Wings of an Angel
by iLOVEsanMYsis
Summary: La tua cantante. I doubted their existance since the first moment I became this...this monster. I never searched for it, never believed in it, never wanted it, never found it until now, when I needed something to guide me away from the demon I had become.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**_EPOV_**

I sighed, leaning my head back. My skull made contact with the wall behind me with a quiet _thunk_, and I closed my green eyes. Life just wasn't fair, was it? Especially to my poor brother…

"What are we going to do, Carlisle?"

"I…I don't know, Esme…I honestly don't."

The quiet voices of my parents drifted from the room on the other side of the wall. I could just barely make out their voices.

"We need to hire another set of girls."

"Tell me, Esme, where can we find a group of the three that we need? It took us weeks to find the last batch!"

I closed my eyes tighter, trying to will my Ipod to charge faster. My father was getting frustrated, which meant that soon my brothers would be able to hear it downstairs, which is exactly what Jasper did not need.

"I don't know!" Esme snapped at him. I flinched at the tone. I'm sure my father didn't back down, though.

"How are we going to do it again? It's so difficult to find a group of all female employees! Especially in this part of the country."

"Then maybe we should move. I'll just drop everything, you can leave the hospital, we'll take the boys and we'll go!"

I heard Esme stomping out of the room, and heard the door to my father's study slam shut next door, then listened as her footsteps stomped angrily down the hallway, the sounds slowly fading as she went down the stairs.

"Real smooth," I grumbled as I stood again from my couch, shaking my head as I crossed over to the bed.

"Shut it, son, or you'll be next."

I rolled my eyes as my father growled at me. I heard stomping footsteps in the study and then the quiet creak of my father's office chair as he slumped down in it.

"I messed up again…" he groaned loud enough for me to hear through the thin wall between us.

"No shit."

"Edward, honestly…how mad is she?"

"Ask Jasper, not me!" I called as I reached down, picking up the Ipod into my hands. I cradled it, as though I could will my energy into it so it would come to life sooner. I turned at hearing the doorknob of my room hitting the wall to see Carlisle leaning against it, his arms crossed over his chest. He had a saddened expression on his face.

"What?" I groaned, flopping myself down onto my bed. I looked over at him and he sighed, stepping further into the room to sit on the edge of my bed.

"Esme's mad at me now. I can tell."

"Yeah, actually. She's pissed, to be quite honest," I said, looking over at my Ipod. It was still charging. "You're frustrated. We all are. Don't take it so hard…"

"How can I not?" Carlisle questioned me as my green gaze went back to him. "How can I not take it so hard when…when…_that_ happened to Jasper?"

I shook my head. If the doctor of us all couldn't come out and say the words, then who among us could? "I don't know, Dad," I told him honestly. "First of all, you could check for online listings and in the paper for the services we're looking for."

Carlisle sighed. "I have to be at the hospital in a couple of hours…"

"So?" I snapped, giving him a pointed look out the corner of my eye. He made it sound like he had absolutely no time.

"So, what?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Go get the freaking paper off the porch and search with the time you have!" I snapped at him. His widened eyes watched me in slight shock at my slight outburst at him. "If you find something, then I'll call them if you don't have time!"

Carlisle swallowed, and nodded. "Okay," he said as he stood, nodding again to himself.

"Thank you," I whispered as he headed for the door.

"For what?" He turned to face me, looking confused.

"For finally listening," I said, and let out a happy grunt at seeing the 'charge complete' screen on my Ipod. I snatched it into my hand as my other hand found my earbuds, unplugged the Ipod from the wall, and began to listen to it in an instant.

The thoughts in my head that all seemed to run together began to slowly dissolve with the music, and I smiled in pleasure. I rolled over onto my stomach, humming slightly against the pillows. Maybe now I could get some sleep, without hearing everyone else getting stressed…

"Edward!"

I jumped awake as I felt the hand on my shoulder, shaking me out of my sleep. A half of my music was missing, so I knew that someone had pulled out one of my earbuds.

I grumbled, pushing myself up onto my elbows so that I could see who was bothering me.

"What?" I moaned out.

"Look, I found something."

My father's tone was urgent as he stuffed a newspaper under my nose, pointing at a column. I eyed it for a moment before nodding in approval.

"Good for you," I mumbled, beginning to lie back down.

"But wait! You said you'd call them, and I have to go to work now, Edward."

"How long was I sleeping…?" I grumbled, reaching up to rub at my eyes with a yawn. I sat up, my legs tucking beneath me slightly from habit.

"A little more than an hour and a half," Carlisle told me, handing me the paper. "You know what to do, right?"

"Yes, Dad," I said, rolling my eyes. "Go to work so you're not late."

"Thanks, son."

"No problem."

I watched as the blond doctor retreated quickly for the door. "And Dad?" I said after him.

"Yeah, son?" He barely slowed.

"Buy Mom something on your way back."

"Sure thing. Will do."

And with that, I heard him bounding down the stairs quickly so he wasn't late to the hospital.

With a heavy sigh, I reached into my pocket for my phone. Grumbling as I looked at the number again on the paper, I dialed it, my eyes scanning the requirements.

A maid, gardener/chef and an interior designer made up the trio, which had been named the 'Twisted Maids.' I grimaced at the name. Not exactly my idea of a name that I would what I would want in a service. I shrugged it off, though. I wouldn't need to worry about it. Not now, anyway. Carlisle would.

I scanned the rest of the requirements. Food, lodging, a bit of extra pay, and half a day off a week, and they were glad to stay and work.

As I hit the send button on my phone, I couldn't exactly say no to my father now, especially after I was the one to suggest this whole idea to him. Besides, it would cheer up Esme, especially after how mad she had gotten earlier.

"Hello! The Twisted Maids, I'm Alice, how can I help you?"

I jumped as a girl's high pitched voice suddenly began speaking on the other end of the line.

"Alice, who is it?" I heard someone yell in the background.

"Not now, I'm on the phone!" the voice hissed back.

"Uhm, yes. I have a job for you."

"Oh, lovely! That was rather quick. I only put the ad in the paper two days ago; I wasn't expecting a call for work so soon! Looks like we won't even have to unload the truck before we go, we can just go and move right in! Oh, now I have to go tell Rosie and Bells, and get all of the things we have ready and – "

"Alice!"

I blinked at hearing the words all come out in a rush, and then again at hearing the single word by the second person cut off her prattle.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Could I have your name and address, please?"

"Uhm…uh…" I had to find my voice before I continued. "I'm Edward. I'm actually calling for my father, Carlisle Cullen," I told her, and gave her the address, as well as directions to get to the home.

"All right! Would it be all right if we came through tonight to get settled in?"

Tonight? That was rather quick, wasn't it?

"Well, sure, I guess, but – "

"Okay! See you in a few hours! Thank you! Bu-bye!"

The other end of the line suddenly went dead and I blinked, pulling it away from my ear to stare at the screen as it went from the call screen back to the main menu.

What had I just done? Hired three women to help around the house or invited three lunatics for a stay?

I groaned, flopping back on my bed. I really didn't want to find out…

**BPOV**

I gawked as I sat in the front seat by Alice, who drove up to the house.

"W-we're supposed to be working…h-here?" I stuttered out. I gulped.

"Yes, Bells," she told me in her gentle trill of a voice, her butterscotch eyes looking over at me. "It'll all be fine, Bells, I promise you."

"But…but…" I whimpered. It was so big…I was afraid of it. And not only because of its size. I could smell humans. My throat burned slightly.

"Bells, it'll be fine, I promise you," Alice whispered as her car came to a stop. She put the car in park, and leaned across the median of the seat and pulled my head over towards her by placing a hand on the back of my neck, and gently kissed my forehead. "I won't let anything happen to you, and I won't let you go out of control on them. It'll be fine, I can tell."

I swallowed again. I hated new places, and both Rose and Alice knew this. I especially hated new places with humans. Why humans? Why did Rose and Alice have to torture me like it was some sort of sick game? It wasn't…not for me, anyway. It was like waving a chocolate bar in front of a child, then eating it yourself; it just wasn't fair.

"Bells, we're not trying to make you uncomfortable," Alice whispered as she got out of the car at human speed, which was horrifyingly slow, and I followed her example to begin grabbing a small bag from the back of the car before moving to the trunk. Rose was behind us in the moving truck, telling the driver were to go. I could just barely hear its loud engine turning off from the paved road and onto the long gravel drive through the trees a couple miles away.

"Sure seems like it," I grumbled as I began to get out a couple of my bags.

"Bella, if you don't cut it out, I swear to God, I'll – " Alice snapped at me. I flinched away from her at the harsh tone and her eyes softened. "Oh, Bells, I'm sorry…I-I…"

"Don't…stop," I whispered, my darkened orange gaze down, my brown hair now falling in a shade between the two of us so I couldn't see her and she couldn't see me. "It's fine."

Before Alice could even say anything else, I headed for the door. I set down a few of the bags I had by the door, closing my eyes for a moment to gather my bearings. I breathed in deep, taking in all of the scents around me, and let my finger press the doorbell.

I heard the traditional chimes of the doorbell ringing within the depths of the many rooms of the home. My ears allowed me to pick up the sounds of a stereo, as well as a video game that was still going. Bounding footsteps were heard on the stairs, and I took a step back, but Alice was already behind me, a hand on my back to make sure I didn't run back and try to hotwire her car. I'm pretty sure I could if I wanted to, either that or get Rose to do it for me…

The door suddenly flung open, and I stared wide eyed up at the bulky young man that stood in the doorway now, a wide grin on his face. He looked like a personal body guard with the build that he had, his arms muscular and chest tight. He wore a loose shirt, though, which prevented me from seeing if he had abs or not.

He looked like a serious weightlifter, with a full head of curly brown hair and blue eyes. His scent was bittersweet, and I watched him quietly.

His eyes looked over the two of us, and I could tell just by the look on his face that he thought we were beautiful. A bit pale, maybe, but stunningly beautiful. That's what they all thought, though, when they saw the three of us. It was nothing new.

"Hello, ladies! I guess you three are the Twisted Maids. Please, come in! My mother will be with you in a moment, she's in the middle of something."

His voice was gentle, which threw me for a loop after I had been expecting a deep, booming voice. I blinked, and Alice pushed me forward. I glared at her before I began to move in through the open door, leaving my bags just outside the front door and to the side.

"Do you need help with your stuff?"

"Probably," I heard Alice answer. I was still marveling at how…how _big_ he was. Yes, I was stronger than him, but he was still so big compared to Alice and I…

"Oh, and by the way, I'm Emmett. You are…?"

"I'm Alice," Alice told him, dancing over to his side to give him a kiss of greeting on either side of his face. "And that's Isabella," she pointed to me, causing me to grimace as she used my whole name, "and that's Rosalie," she pointed to Rose, who was just coming inside the door.

Emmett nodded to each of us in turn, though when Alice pointed to Rose, his gaze lingered on her, and he looked as though he were in a daze. I looked back at Rose to see that she hadn't even realized he was watching, her own butterscotch gaze going out the window and towards the garden, studying it momentarily. Typical Rose.

"So," Alice's high pitched voice tore Emmett out of his stupor and his gaze swiveled back over to her, "this is a nice home you have."

Emmett nodded. "Yeah, Mom likes to keep it up nice and tidy," he said, beaming with pride at the thought of his mother, apparently. I smiled ever so slightly, shifting my stony features somewhat. He was nice. Maybe I could grow to like this human…this _one_ human.

"How many people live here?" Alice asked, crossing over to look at a portrait, her hands clasped behind her back. I smiled at how much she looked like a child as she stood in such a way, leaning forward to take in the detail of the painting. She looked like a little girl in a museum who'd been told not to touch anything.

"Five, actually. My mom and dad, as well as my two younger brothers," Emmett answered. My eyes went back to his face as he spoke, watching as it fell slightly from its prideful mask, eyes going to the ground. Something was bothering him, but I let it go, turning to look at the pictures on the wall.

"That's of all of us," Emmett said, his voice once more filled with energy as he bounded over to us, pointing at the portrait that Alice was looking at. Before I had a chance to lean in to get a better look at the painting, I heard footsteps on the stairs and I smelled the woman before I saw her.

I turned to the stairwell, watching the human that was coming down it, brown hair falling loosely around her shoulders. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans and an old shirt. I could tell what her hobby was just by seeing little paint spatters over her hands as she rubbed them furiously on her pants to try and wipe them away. I smiled at her welcoming look, her gentle honey eyes flicking between Alice, Rose and I. Okay…maybe _two_ humans.

Just two.

"You must be our new maids," the woman said with a smile at the three of us, and Alice nodded.

"Yes, ma'am," Alice said, smiling widely. I could tell she liked the woman already. I don't know why, I would just rather bite her. The burn in my throat increased aggravatingly at her scent. I could even imagine doing it right now…

I looked up as I heard an almost silent hiss, and I lifted my gaze to see Alice glaring heavily at me. I sighed, rolling my eyes. Stupid visions…

"I'm Alice," she continued before she looked away from me. "And that's Isabella, and that's Rosalie."

She pointed to each of us in turn again and we nodded.

"I see," the woman smiled. "I'm Esme, and I'm sure you've already met my son, Emmett."

Alice nodded.

"He speaks well of you," Rose said, speaking for the first time since we'd arrived at the house.

"He does now, does he?" Esme said, turning to look at her son, who was smiling like an idiot as he looked at Rose.

"Yes," Rose replied, smiling at the woman, but not looking at Emmett. He didn't seem to care, though, as he watched her. He just looked grateful to be in the same room as her.

"Well, then, I'll show you to your rooms so you can move right in, shall I?" Esme asked, and Alice smiled.

"That sounds nice," she told Esme, and the woman began to lead us up the stairs.

"Emmett, why don't you start unloading their things from the truck?" Esme called behind her.

"Uh…sure, Mom," Emmett said, sounding put out as he stopped halfway up the second step to turn around and begin heading for the truck. With his smell gone, I relaxed slightly, but the burn in my throat didn't cease as we went up the stairs. I nearly tripped a few times, but as Alice said before, I'm indestructible as I am, so falling wouldn't harm me. Stupid clumsiness, it was supposed to go away with the change, but of course not, it just had to stay…

I sighed as we went up the stairs to the second floor, following the woman down the hallway. I caught the scents of three others. All males, I could tell. One was very strong, and it led to the door on the right that we just passed.

"These will be your rooms," Esme said as she stopped, and pointed to three rooms, two on one side of the hallway, and a third on the other side.

"Uhm…all three?" Rose asked, her brow creasing slightly.

"Yes, is that a problem?" Esme asked, tilting her head to the side. Both Alice and Rose turned to look at me. I just shrugged.

"It's fine with me, guys," I said, and they eyed me for a moment before I shrugged again and they looked back to Esme.

"All right, then," Esme said. "Emmett will help you three bring your things up. I need to go wash up so that I can make dinner."

"Oh no, don't worry about that, Mrs. Cullen," Rose said with a smile. "I'll fix it, if you show me where the kitchen is."

"Oh, you're a darling," Esme said as she took Rose by the arm, beginning to lead her down the hallway again gently to go back down to the first floor. After they were gone, Alice turned to look at me.

"Are you sure you'll be okay in a room by yourself, Bells?" she asked me, her eyes lit with slight concern.

I sighed, shrugging. "I guess. If it gets bad or if I need to be with either of you I can just cross the hall and stay with you in your room."

Alice nodded. "All right, if you're sure," she said, and I nodded. "Okay, then, let's go help Emmett unpack the truck."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not as if there's a lot of stuff to get, Alice," I said, but followed behind her anyway. She was going so slow, but I know that it couldn't be helped in a home full of humans. I grumbled, pushing her a bit faster down the stairs. "Go faster, this is annoying."

"Geez, I'm taking you hunting tonight," she said, turning to look at me over her shoulder as we went down the stairs. "You're cranky when you're thirsty."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes again, settling on a glare at the small pixie below me. When we reached the bottom, Alice turned to me, placing a hand on my cheek to make me look at her. "Besides, your eyes are going black. You need to feed."

I sighed, relenting. "Fine." I closed my eyes, and Alice leaned forward to rest her forehead on mine for a moment. She pulled away slightly before she kissed it. "Come on."

I opened my eyes, nodding as I began to walk along behind her, my head down slightly.

"How many men? I can't…exactly distinguish all of the scents," I breathed, but I knew that Alice heard me.

"Four," she replied, and she turned to see my expression fighting between stoic and fearful. "It'll be fine, Bells."

I sighed slightly, swallowing. I didn't exactly like being here. I didn't even see why we had to do this…why we had to act human. There were always places we could go, like Alaska to Denali, or we could go to Italy, even…but Alice and Rose had already explained that we would be here forever, and that we had time…had time to continue on our own way before choosing another.

I had my head down still as I made it to the truck, where Emmett was just turning around, a few boxes balancing in his arms.

"Hey," his voice caught my attention, making me look up and into his blue eyes, "why so sad looking? You're face is too beautiful for you to be moping around." He smiled genuinely at me before he turned, beginning to walk back towards the house after Rose, who had passed me along the way here.

The truck driver was in the back, handing us boxes so we didn't have to climb up in there too. "Just a few more after these, Miss," he told Alice after I'd gotten my boxes with ease, and Alice nodded.

"Thanks," she said, smiling at him. He was in a daze as the two of us turned to go back into the house, going back up to the third floor. I stopped my breathing temporarily as I felt the thirst become angry in my throat, venom pooling in my mouth as I smelled the humans there. I swallowed the venom hurriedly, trying to ignore the thirst in my throat.

"You really are thirsty, aren't you?" Alice asked me as we set down the boxes in one of the three rooms, and I nodded. "Bells, your eyes are coal…"

I nodded silently, not speaking. "As soon as I can, I'll bring you out hunting," she told me, and I nodded. "Just try not to breathe…it helps."

I nodded, my lips pursed together as I tried not to breathe, like she told me to.

"There you go," Alice told me, and stood up on her tip toes again to give me another kiss on the forehead. "Just another hour, and we'll be able to escape."

Just one more hour…

God, I didn't even know if I could make it that long…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**APOV**

I watched Bella out of the corner of my eye as I sped down the highway. Rose was probably still in the middle of making dinner, but I knew that we had to hurry, if we were going to have her fed by the time the father came home from work. He would want to meet us then, I'd seen it.

"You should have told me you were so thirsty, I would have brought you earlier before we left for the Cullen's," I told her. I was concerned, something that I didn't feel unless I thought it was absolutely necessary.

"I'm fine, Alice," Bella spoke in a growl, her black eyes glaring out the window.

"I'll have to take you out hunting more often until you get used to them," I said, watching her. "I may be able to push you far, but I'm not stupid."

"Just drive," Bella growled back.

I sighed, looking ahead. "Esme seems really nice, Bella."

She growled at me, but I didn't stop. "She likes you, she really does. She looks like she can't wait for us to meet the rest of her family. She actually looked a bit put out when I told her I had to take you to go find a new pair of shoes."

"Luckily you already have some for me in the back." Her voice was like venom, which in truth it was. "You smell like that human."

"Which one?"

"The woman. Esme."

"Oh. Yeah, I gave her a hug. She's really nice, Bella. She wants to show you around after we get back."

"Great, so I can go screw something up tomorrow when I actually start working."

I sighed, shaking my head slightly as I weaved through traffic before breaking off to an exit and turning onto a forest path off the feeder road, speeding down the path.

I pulled to a stop, and Bella was instantly darting out of the car and out into the forest. I heard a deer screech, though the sound was quickly cut off, and then I heard her running again only seconds later.

I just stood by the car. Rose and I fed last night, so I was fine. I just waited for her to finish.

After hearing her catch and feed on two more deer, she began to come back towards me, wiping her mouth on the sleeve of her shirt. Blood was spattered over the front of it, and I shook my head slightly as I began to dig in the back of the car, coming out with a shirt for her.

"Here," I whispered, and she ripped off the shirt she had on now, wiping her face and hands on it before she tossed it onto the floor of the car in the back, pulling on the shirt I handed her. As she did, I reached into the back and pulled out sandals for her, holding them out to her. She pulled off her tennis shoes and handed them to me, slipping the sandals on easily. "Better?"

She nodded. "Much," she whispered, and smiled over at me. "Thank you, Alice."

"No problem, Bells," I answered, and stood on my tip toes to kiss her forehead, a smile on my face. "Besides, your eyes are close to butterscotch now."

She smiled at me as she moved to get back into the car, and I did the same, starting it so I could turn around and go back towards the road.

"Sorry I was such an ass earlier," Bella told me.

I laughed, and she smiled at the sound. I grinned evilly. "You just have to make it up to Rose and I!" I smiled sweetly over at her, and her look suddenly turned horrified.

"Wh-what're you going to make me do?" she asked, her voice close to a squeak as I watched her, barely watching the road as I entered the highway, weaving with ease through traffic.

"We're going shopping with you! What else?" I asked her, becoming excited at just the idea of being able to go shopping with Bella again.

"Oh, no, Alice, please, – "

"Nope! You had it coming!" I trilled, humming happily in pleasure at realizing that I'd backed her into a corner.

She huffed and slumped in her seat, crossing her arms angrily over her chest, glaring darkly out the window with her now orange butterscotch eyes.

I lightly tapped my fingers along the steering wheel of my car as I sped down the highway before weaving to the exit, beginning to head towards the Cullen's household again.

As I turned onto the driveway, though, I suddenly saw something.

_Bella was standing in a darkened room, her eyes scoring a very large collection of music with wide, hopeful eyes._

_She was biting her lip like she always does when she's thinking hard about something, her nose scrunching up sometimes as she thought._

_She reached for a cd, but before she picked it out she stopped and pulled her hand back, grimacing as the indecision flashed on her face. Behind her, bed sheets rustled in the dark, but Bella was so absorbed in what she was doing she didn't even hear…_

I hummed again as I came out of the vision, looking over at Bella.

"I think I'm going to go find some music when we get there," she told me. "You know, listening to some music might calm me down."

I smiled. "That'll be good for you, Bells," I commented as I stopped in front of the garage, getting out. Bella followed my example.

"What's all the humming for?"

I smiled and just hummed again in a 'wouldn't you like to know?' sort of way as I went up to the front door, just walking right on in. I knew it would be unlocked.

I could hear a pot clattering in the kitchen a few feet away, and I still heard that video game playing somewhere upstairs. I heard a laugh, and then the dull thud of someone punching another playfully. A fresh wave of the scent I'd caught in the hallway earlier was right in front of me, as though the person had passed through while we were gone. The scent trail wasn't older than twenty minutes.

The scent was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. It was so gentle, yet…so strong. So overpowering. If I wasn't so old in vampire years, I wouldn't have been able to control myself from finding the human and sucking them dry earlier. It was so strange, the way it pulled me in. I'd never smelt human blood like it before.

I listened to the game for a moment, and smiled as I heard what I wanted to. A racing game.

"Oh, games!" I said excitedly, beginning to skip towards the stairs. Really, though, I was just following the scent.

"You're hopeless, Alice," I heard Bella say behind me as I began to go up the stairs at a fast human pace. I could just picture her rolling her eyes as I went.

**BPOV**

I sighed, standing there alone in the entrance hall after Alice was gone up the stairs. I could smell a lot of different scents in the air, and finally decided to follow Rose's, which brought me closer to the sound of her voice.

It didn't take me long to make it to the kitchen, and I stepped further in, watching as Rose stirred some mix in a bowl. It looked grotesque to me, but then again, I fancied having a raw, juicy deer, so I guess it was only natural.

She was laughing when I walked in, the woman sitting on a barstool on the other side of the counter. Her hazel eyes were watching what Rose was doing intently, but as soon as I had made it into the door, Rose stopped and looked over at me, and smiled.

Her eyes scanned my shirt for anything I might have to change, and then looked at my eyes, locking her gaze with mine. Slowly she nodded in approval and I smiled.

"Hey, Rose," I waved as I began to walk over to where Esme was sitting. I just leaned against the counter, not sitting. I wasn't planning on staying long. At least when I smelled the woman my throat didn't burn.

"Hi, Bells," she replied, smiling widely at me.

"Whatcha making?" I asked, looking into the bowl with faked interest.

"Potato salad," she told me, smiling. "Chicken's in the oven and steamed veggies are on the stove."

"Mmmn, sounds good," I smiled. We had to play this game every single time…we had to. To at least make it appear we were human.

"Yes, Rosalie is a good cook. I've already tasted some of the food; it's amazing!" Esme sounded impressed. "It's all so much better than mine. And I'm sure the boys and Carlisle will love it."

I'm sure that if Rose could blush, she would have. She smiled shyly. "It's not that big of a deal," she said, lightly toeing the ground with one of her feet as she stirred the contents of the bowl again.

"So how did the shoe shopping go?" Rose asked, and I blinked.

"Shoe shopping?" I repeated, sounding confused.

"Yeah, isn't that where you just went?" Rose pressed, and her gaze was pleading for just a split second. The human wouldn't catch it.

"Oh," I said, sudden realization coming to smack me upside the head. That was the cover story. I'd forgotten. "It was fine. I got these."

I stuck my foot out so she could 'see' my new sandals, which had a small heel on them. Alice knew that I hated heels, and I was grateful she hadn't forced me into them.

"Oh, those are pretty, Bells," she said with a smile as she looked down to them, then looked at me. She winked before looking back at Esme.

"Mrs. Cullen," I started, but she cut me off.

"Esme, please, Isabella," she said with a smile at me.

"Then if I have to call you Esme, you have to call me Bella," I said, and she chuckled.

"Of course, Bella."

"Anyway," I said, continuing as though I hadn't been interrupted, "do you have any music collections?" I tilted my head to side. "I like to listen to music while I clean, so I'd like to start looking…"

"Of course," Esme smiled. "However, it's up in my son's room. He's probably sleeping…he hasn't been feeling well as of late."

I nodded. "That's fine; I'll be really quiet."

"All right…it's the fourth room on the left on the second floor," she told me, and I smiled, nodding.

"Thank you, Esme."

"Not a problem at all, Bella."

"So, where are your other two sons?" Rose asked as I turned to walk out.

"Oh, Jasper doesn't like new people, especially men…he's probably up in his room playing a video game with Emmett," Esme's voice slowly began to fade as I went up the stairs faster than I probably should have.

"And why doesn't he like new people?"

Rose's words were the last I heard of their conversation as I made it to the second floor. I could smell Alice's sweet cotton candy scent and followed it slightly to the doorway of the room I was hearing the video game come from. The door was open now, and Emmett and a more slender, slightly taller boy was sitting beside him, both with controllers in their hands.

They were racing, and Alice was sitting on the bed right behind them, cheering both of them on.

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as I turned to go down the hallway again. I counted the doorways, and stood in front of the fourth door on the left. I couldn't hear anything from inside, but I was careful anyway.

Slowly I opened the door and stepped in. What met me first was a large floor to ceiling window, and I gaped. It was beautiful. I could see the darkened forms of a bed, wardrobe, and a large tv, as well as a few cabinets and a desk.

I could see a form lying on the bed in the dark, and knew that they – whoever it was – were asleep.

An overpowering smell smacked me upside the head like a wrecking ball, and I staggered backwards slightly. My throat burned with thirst, and something in me told me that one little bite wouldn't hurt, but I pushed the monster back. It just wanted one little taste, but I knew I couldn't do it. I bit my lip. I hope Alice hadn't seen a vision from my split second decision to bite him.

I swallowed, deciding to leave the door open a crack before I tiptoed over to look at a long line of bookshelves, all filled with music. I began to browse, finding it easier in the room if I just didn't breathe.

I began to search through the music for something to listen to. I would start to pick out a cd, but then I would think against it and pull my hand back. I just couldn't decide what music to listen to…

I was halfway through the music collection and was actually about to pick up a cd when I jumped and jerked around, an angered voice ripping me from my thoughts.

"What're you doing in my room?"

**EPOV**

I was cranky. Someone was in my room, and they'd woken me up…and they were looking at my music, too. It was a woman, I realized, by her slim frame.

"What're you doing in my room?" I growled.

I watched as she gasped, whipping around. The room was dark, and I couldn't see any detail on her face. I could tell she was small, though.

"I-I-I'm sorry!" she stuttered after a few moments. I could hear fear, real fear, in her voice, and I instantly regretted my growl. "I-I'll just go…"

I watched after her as she nearly ran for my door, which was cracked open.

"Please excuse me!" She stumbled over her own two feet as she tried to get out of the room, catching herself on the door before she quickly went out of the room, the door shutting with a click behind her.

I sighed, reaching up to run a hand over my face, then began to rub at my eyes with a yawn. _Great_. If anything, I felt worse after the nap than I had before.

Well, after my interruption, though, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to sleep any longer, and stood, flicking on the light once crossing the room to the switch. I trudged my way to the adjoining bathroom to my room, splashing cold water over my face in an attempt to wake myself up a bit more.

The cold water felt good against my abnormally heated skin, and I stood there for a moment at the sink, the water dripping from my face as I watched myself in the mirror. I had bags under my eyes, making me look like I hadn't slept in a long while even though I had just woken up. I sighed, reaching for a towel to wipe the water from my face, leaving some on my forehead in the hopes that maybe I would feel better.

Who was that girl?

I sighed again, closing my green eyes for a moment. The girl had sounded terrified…I wondered why. Shrugging it off, I went back to my room, my eyes looking to the clock. It was going to be time to eat soon.

Had those girls gotten here yet? I wondered who would have let them in, because Esme was usually painting around this time…

My thoughts, even though I tried to distract them, went back to that girl. She had been hanging around my music shelves…was anything gone?

I strode over quickly, checking over the many cd's and albums, and was satisfied to find that they were all still in place and that they didn't even seem to be touched. She was just…looking. Why, though? Why was some girl I didn't even know in here looking at my music? In the dark, no less? It was just past sunset now, but still…

"Hey! Boys! It's time to eat!"

I groaned softly at hearing my mother's voice calling us, crossing to my closet to at least try and make myself presentable for dinner. I pulled out a button-up shirt, slipping it on over the grey t-shirt I wore. I didn't feel up to changing out of my pajama bottoms. The rest of the family would understand.

I walked out of my room, running a hand through my bronze hair, stretching slightly after a moment.

"Hey, Edward!" Emmett called as he walked out of his and Jasper's room.

I waved slightly, though I didn't answer.

"Good evening, sleeping beauty. I haven't seen you all day," he said, slapping his hand against my shoulder. I grimaced slightly. "Come to think of it, I didn't even see you much yesterday, either. What," he eyed my pajama bottoms, "planning on a sleep over?"

"Leave him be, Emmett…you still don't feel good, do you?"

I looked up at hearing my slightly older brother, and slowly shook my head.

"At least you're eating tonight," Jasper said quietly, coming to place a hand on my shoulder, gently patting it before we began to descend the chairs. "A few days ago you weren't even eating."

I nodded, sighing. I heard laughter, and blinked. It wasn't Esme's laughter.

"Who is that?" I asked.

"Those girls…the cleaning service girls. They got here a couple of hours ago. You've been sleeping since right after you told Esme around three that they were coming," Jasper explained quietly. His voice was subdued now, not anything like it had been only a year ago…though I couldn't really blame him…

"What time is it now?"

"Almost eight…Dad should be home really soon," Emmett answered for Jasper just as we walked into the dining room.

As I walked in, I looked around to try and find my mother. I wanted to ask her what we were having, because if it was going to be too hard on my stomach I would have to go make myself something else. When I found her, though, she was in the middle of an animated conversation with three girls, a brunette and a blonde sitting beside each other, their backs nearly to me, laughing as Esme spoke.

A girl sat beside Esme, her pixie-like hair sticking every which way. Her butterscotch eyes mesmerized me…she was beautiful. I wondered what her name was.

However, I didn't even get to ask, because the brunette stiffened only seconds after I had walked in.

She slowly turned, and I swallowed, suddenly feeling sick again. I felt like I was staring into the eyes of a hungry, starving animal. They were a dark, menacing shade of topaz, and I took a step backwards in shock.

"Owch! Eddie, that's my foot!" I heard Emmett cry out, and I cringed away from the loud noise.

"Sorry," I grumbled, and quickly passed to my chair, my head down. I didn't want to see that girl's look again…

I heard the front door open, the chatter at the other end of the table ceasing with it.

"Esme?"

"In here, Carlisle! Dinner's ready, we were just waiting for you!" Esme called, and I watched as my father walked into the room, looking stiff.

"You didn't have to do that," Carlisle said as he moved to sit down at his spot at the end of the table.

"What're we having?" I mumbled quietly, not exactly looking up.

"Baked chicken, steamed vegetables and potato salad, Edward," I heard Esme say softly. "Is that too much for you?"

Just the thought of it all made me feel a bit green. I nodded.

"I'll make you something smaller."

I looked up at hearing a chair scrape quietly against the floor, and the blonde was standing, smiling over at me.

"Alice, Bells, if you'll just bring the plates in here for them, they can start eating."

The two girls nodded and they headed for the kitchen behind me. My head dropped as soon as the brunette passed. The girl came over to me and stood by my chair. I could feel her gaze boring slightly into my back.

"Do you want to come in there with me, or stay in here? It shouldn't take me long to make you something either way," she spoke finally as I heard the other two girls coming back out, placing plates on the table.

"In the kitchen," I said and began to stiffly stand. I could tell Carlisle was watching me as I turned to head into the kitchen, but I didn't look at him, nor anyone else. When the two of us made it into the kitchen, the blonde smiled at me.

"What would you like?"

"A peanut butter and jelly sandwich would be fine," I said quietly as I sat down on a barstool. She nodded and began to dig around in the pantry for the things she'd need. "I'm Edward, by the way. I didn't mean to be rude."

She laughed, and I smiled at the sound. "I'm Rosalie," she said as she turned to look at me with a smile.

"I'm such an ass, especially after you went to all the trouble to cook tonight and I ask for something else…"

I was slightly surprised to hear her laugh. "Don't worry," she said, "I was actually planning on making you something else, your mother told me you weren't feeling well."

I nodded, and rested an elbow on the bar in front of me, my chin settling on my hand.

As she made the sandwich, she looked up at me. "You're not really talkative, are you?"

"I usually don't talk unless I'm spoken to," I told her. "I'm usually good at telling what people are thinking, though; that's why I don't talk a lot."

"Really?" she asked me, her head tilted to the side. "What do you suppose I'm thinking now?"

I looked up at her and into her face, watching her.

"You're thinking its odd the way I'm speaking to you; that I'm so polite. You think that I'm very perceptive of people around me. You're worried about someone, too."

She laughed again. "Impressive, Edward," she told me. "Do you like it cut diagonal or across the middle?"

I hadn't even realized it, but she already had the entire sandwich made. I blinked. "Uh…diagonal," I told her, and she cut it, pushing it across the counter towards me. "I'd like to eat it in here, too, if you don't mind."

"That's fine," Rosalie nodded, leaning down on the counter slightly. "One of my friends is in a sour mood, too, so I think I'll just stick around in here."

"Oh really? Do you know what about?" I asked. Probably because of me.

"Not really. She wasn't talking." I watched her face as she seemed to stare off into nothing, picking at the sandwich she'd made for me. She was worried, and a bit perplexed. "So…Rosalie, tell me about you and the other girls."

She gave me a crooked smile, leaving me almost breathless at her beauty. "It's quite a long tale. I'll save it for another time."

I smiled. "All right," I nodded. "You better keep your word." She smiled with a nod.

"You have no idea how hard it will be not to," she whispered under her breath. I didn't comment because I didn't think I was supposed to hear. I wondered what her comment meant.

"Which one is the brunette, though?" I asked curiously.

"That's Bella. The pixie is Alice," she explained. "The two of them are really close, though. Alice, though, is a bit of a shopaholic…"

We began to slide into a bit of easy conversation as I finished off my sandwich, and even after I had finished we stayed in the kitchen. Finally, I stood and moved to place my plate in the sink to be washed later. Rosalie seemed to like talking to me. She thought I was interesting.

When I went to walk out of the kitchen, though, I bumped into someone. I looked up, my smile fading as though it were never there. I swallowed.

Bella was glaring at me, her darkened eyes watching me. Were they darker than earlier?

Before I realized it, the two of us were in a standstill in the doorway. I was frozen in both fear and shock, and she just continued to glare, a scowl forming on her face. Finally, she snarled, "Excuse me," before she gently pushed past me and into the kitchen. I stood there, blinking.

Alice came up to me, looking up into my face. "I'm sorry, Edward, for both her waking you up earlier and just now…" she said honestly before she ran off to go over to Bella.

I hadn't said anything about anyone waking me up, had I?

I blinked.

Wait…had I even told her my name?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**RPOV**

I watched as Edward left the kitchen, looking a bit green again. Bella was at the sink, just watching the water splash down over the dishes she'd just put in. I slowly walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"That was rather rude," I told her quietly. "The boy is sick; he doesn't need to think that someone hates him now."

She growled, and turned to glare at me. Her eyes were lightening up again from a dark shade of amber.

"Yeah, well, if he's sick, I'd rather just take care of him," she snarled, reaching up to turn off the water faucet without looking. "No human has the right to smell so freaking good, Rose!"

I blinked. "Is that why you glare at him? So he stays away? You live in the same house as him now, Bells, you can't stay away from him forever."

"I can stay away from him for as long as I want, Rose," she growled again. "He smells so good, and I'm afraid that if I go near him again I'm going to kill him."

I sighed. "So you're taking your hate out on Edward? Is that how it is, Bells?" She glared at me again. "It's not right to hate someone 'just because they smell good.' He was terrified of you earlier. That Emmett kid smells pretty good to me, but you don't see me glaring at him to stay away." She sighed this time, her gaze seeming to fall in shame.

"You're older than me, though," Bella whispered quietly. "You can control it better."

"But the fact you didn't attack him the first time you smelled him is enough," I tried to assure her, reaching up to place a hand on her cheek. "Don't worry about it; you won't attack him. If you were able to control yourself the first time, you'll be fine."

Bella whimpered quietly and I reached over to pull her into my arms, holding her gently to me as I tried to soothe her, her breaths coming in shaky, tearless sobs. It were times like these when I wish we could cry, because the sensation of tears falling from your eyes would have probably helped…but we couldn't cry.

Slowly, Bella calmed, and kept her face buried into my shoulder.

"Feeling better now?" I asked her, and she nodded. "That's good."

I held her gently in my arms for a few minutes, running my hand gently over her hair. After a moment I pulled away, and smiled at her. "Now come on, Alice is going to want us to help her unpack the boxes tonight."

She groaned, and I laughed. "And Alice already told me that we're taking you shopping. There's no way you're getting out of it this time."

I grinned as she groaned again, and I patted her shoulder, my arm still around her shoulders as we began to walk out of the kitchen, "Just grin and bare it, Bells, just grin and bare it."

**EPOV**

I went upstairs to go back to my room to try and go back to sleep, but as I passed Jasper's room a large hand whipped out and latched onto my arm. I was pulled in, and I groaned as the sudden motion made my stomach do flips.

"Emmett," I grumbled, closing my eyes for a moment and tried to keep myself from swaying, a hand going to my head. I felt strong hands on my shoulders to keep me steady, and I didn't move for a while as I tried to let my stomach settle.

"Eddie? You all right?" Emmett's voice was concerned, and I heard footsteps coming up beside him.

"Gimme a minute…" I whispered, swallowing, and after a few moments I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. Emmett was looking down at me in concern, and Jasper was now standing beside him, looking worried. "Please don't pull me like that…"

"Sure…sure, Eddie…" Emmett whispered. "You all right?"

"Yeah, now…" I swallowed, looking up at the two of them after a minute.

"Sorry about that…" Emmett told me, taking one of his hands off of my shoulder, but kept the other there. I must have still looked green and he didn't want me to possibly fall over.

"It's fine, now…" I whispered. "Just be careful…"

"I will," Emmett said. From his tone, I could tell that he really would try, unlike in the past when he said he would do something and he didn't even try to do it. "We were wondering if you wanted to play a game…"

"What game?" I asked, looking up at him and then over at Jasper.

"Racing game, you interested?" Jasper asked me, and I smiled at him slightly.

"Sure, why not?" I asked, crossing over to pick up one of the controllers. Jasper and Emmett began to grab their own, Emmett letting out a loud laugh.

I picked my car and my characters, and we began to race. We had just finished the fifth race of the competition when Emmett threw his controller at Jasper, who was currently in the lead. I was losing, but it was entertaining to watch my brothers compete. Emmett was such a sore loser, which made it so much better.

Jasper began to laugh, and I smiled as I watched them begin to wrestle as Emmett tackled Jasper, though he was careful and didn't attack him as we used to when he was a kid. He let Jasper take control of the fight, and soon Emmett was pinned on the bed.

"You beat me, Jazz," he said with a laugh. Jasper just rolled his eyes, knowing that Emmett had let him win, and he turned to pick up his controller again, not moving from where he sat on Emmett's stomach, pulling his legs up to sit Indian style on his older brother.

Emmett laughed again, shaking Jasper, as he grabbed his controller.

"Looks like this next race is going to get interesting," I commented as I pressed the button to continue onto the next course.

Emmett roared with laughter, shaking Jasper above him again he was laughing so hard.

"I'm gonna kick your ass this time, Jazz," Emmett said, and Jasper smirked slightly down at him.

"Wanna bet?" he questioned, and Emmett laughed again as the race started.

As I had guessed, the race was interesting. For once, I actually won…but, it could have been due to the fact that every time Emmett laughed, Jasper was flipped slightly to the side, causing his character to swerve all over the road and run into bad items while Emmett's view was blocked by Jasper when he fell.

I smiled slightly in triumph, glad that for once I had actually won…but I wasn't the type to brag, and I just started the next race. Jasper stayed on Emmett's stomach, even though the younger man was playing the game sideways.

Both Emmett and I knew that this was good for Jasper…it was good for him to know that he could be in control of the other men. We went through the other six races, Jasper coming out the winner.

"You always win, Jazz," Emmett whimpered quietly, looking up at Jasper with a pout.

Jasper chuckled down at him, reaching down to pat Emmett's chest in order to calm him down a bit.

I yawned and stretched, and Jasper looked up at me.

"You should go to bed, Edward," Jasper told me, and I nodded.

"What? It's not even ten yet," Emmett said as I began to stand slowly, reaching up to scratch at my head, ruffling my hair slightly in the process.

"I'm tired, Emmett…" I mumbled, beginning to yawn heavily again.

"But you've been sleeping all day…" he tried to protest, watching me in concern. He was still pinned beneath Jasper, but he didn't want to force Jasper to move. He wanted Jasper to choose when he wanted to move, so he wasn't going to make him do anything.

"I'm tired, Emmett," I repeated, turning to look at him. I felt beaten down, exhausted. It was true, though, I had been sleeping all day. I slept in late and skipped breakfast, barely ate anything at lunch, and went back up to my room to take another nap, then another again before dinner where I still hadn't eaten much. "I'm going to bed…"

"All right, Edward," Emmett said, looking up at me. "Sleep well."

"I'll try to…" I whispered, waving to them as I walked out of the room. I made sure no one was in the hall before I stepped out, not wanting another encounter with the Bella girl. She frightened me, and I hated that feeling, so I was trying to avoid it at all costs.

I made it to my room and sighed at the welcoming look of my bed. I turned off the light and went over to the bed, curling up on it after getting under the covers. With a wide yawn, I closed my eyes and lied my head down on my pillow. With a few soft, quiet breaths, I was soon drifting off into sleep.

**EMPOV**

"All right, Edward," I said, looking up at my younger brother. He looked so tired, and I was worried about him. I could see the bags weighing heavy under his eyes, which were slightly dull. His face was barely flushed with slight fever, shoulders slumping slightly. He'd been looking bad lately, but it was just now that I actually took in his appearance.

"I'll try to…" he mumbled, and I watched after him as he crossed to the door in a slow shuffle, yawning as he walked out into the hall. I looked up at Jasper, who was still on my stomach, and he was looking down at me, too. We sat there staring at each other for a few minutes, not really knowing what to say. When I was sure that Edward was out of hearing range, I decided that now would be the best time to break the tense silence that had started up in the room.

"What's he feeling? Can you tell?" I asked him quietly.

He shrugged. "He seems exhausted, to me…" Jasper whispered. I laced my fingers back behind my head, looking up at him as he turned slightly so that he could look at me. "I'm worried, Emmett…I've never seen him looking so sick for longer than a couple days…"

I sighed, shaking my head. "I haven't, either, Jazz…how long has he been like this?"

"It's going on six days now," Jasper told me, a sadness creeping up into his tone. I hated that tone.

I groaned slightly, looking up at my ceiling for a moment. Deciding that both of us needed a change of subject, I looked up at him. "So what do you think of the girls?"

He shrugged. "They're nice," he mumbled, looking away from me and across his room, though there wasn't really anything of interest at that end.

"Just nice?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah…what do you think of them?"

I shrugged. "They're all really pretty," I mumbled. "You notice that?"

He nodded. "I did," he whispered. "They left me speechless, to be quite honest…I don't really think that Edward got to notice any of them really besides Rosalie." I snorted, and Jasper looked down at me, a confused look on his face. I was jealous of Edward, actually, because it seemed that while we ate our dinner with Alice and Bella that he got to actually talk to Rosalie. I couldn't help but wonder if she was single…

"What?" he asked me, a slow smile creeping onto his face.

I rolled my eyes, looking to the side.

"Oh, someone has a crush," he grinned, reaching down to poke me accusingly in the chest.

"Shut it, Jasper," I told him, though I could feel my cheeks growing slightly hot as I looked away.

"And I'll bet its Rosalie," Jasper said, chuckling. When I didn't say anything, he took it as his answer and let out a hearty laugh. I smiled; I had missed that laugh. "It is! I knew it!"

"And what about you?" I asked, smiling up at him, and it was his turn to blush. "You sure did seem to get a bit fresh with Alice earlier when she was in here cheering us on."

He looked away, and my laughter boomed through the room. It shook his frame above me, and he still sat in silence. When it was clear he wasn't going to say anything, I just rolled my eyes.

"Did you notice that their skin is really cold, though?" I asked, turning to look at him.

"Huh?" he muttered, looking down at me again, confused. "What're you talking about?"

"Their skin is like ice…" I muttered, sounding confused, myself. "When that Alice girl kissed my cheek after I first met her, my cheek hurt because her lips were so cold…"

"Hmmn…" Jasper murmured, looking thoughtful. I looked up at him, my head tilted slightly to the side in question. He sat like that for well over five minutes, and finally I couldn't take it.

"Got anything?" I asked.

"Nope, haven't got a clue." He grinned innocently down at me and I rolled my eyes. "We'll find something out, though…maybe."

"Yeah, maybe," Jasper said, looking down at me with a smile as he reached for his controller again. "Race you."

"Anytime."

**BPOV**

I sighed. The rest of the humans had already gone to bed. I was sitting in the bedroom with Alice and Rose, watching the two of them play a card game. I wasn't interested in it…I'd rather read a book, but I didn't feel like unpacking it yet.

I sighed, watching as Rose managed to win another round, and Alice groaned. I thought she would be better at this game since she could see the future, but I guess not.

"I'm going to go look around," I said, standing.

"I thought Esme showed you around earlier?"

I looked over at Alice as she asked this question, and I nodded.

"Alone," I decided to clarify. She nodded.

"All right, suit yourself," she said, smiling over at me. "You better be in a good mood tomorrow, Bells. Once you finish tidying up a bit, Esme agreed to take us shopping tomorrow for things to decorate our rooms."

I groaned. "Why?" Why was the human so torturous? Did she not realize what she was doing by letting Alice run free?

"She wants to see what we would do to decorate our rooms so she knows what to expect when I start to decorate other rooms."

I rolled my eyes. "Why does she need an interior designer, anyway? Haven't they already been here for a while?"

"Because," she said, "her 'job' is an at-home painter. She doesn't have time to go out a lot and look for things. If you look at most of the rooms, they aren't decorated. In case you haven't noticed, this place is huge. That's why they need one."

"Oh, I never would have guessed," I said, rolling my eyes again. I turned, almost tripping over a shoe that was in the way. Eyeing it, I saw that it was Alice's, and I turned to watch her suspiciously. She smiled innocently, and I threw the shoe at her before I turned to go out of the room, shutting the door behind me.

No, for my real objective…Alice hadn't had a clue, had she?

I quietly went over to Edward's door without making a sound, and opened the door. I stood there for a moment, listening. No sounds other than breathing.

I smiled deviously before I ducked into the room, the door shut behind me in a flash. I stood there beside his bed then, watching him. His scent was so delicious, so pure. Just one little taste would make a world of difference for me, but I knew that it was forbidden.

Once again, the candy bar scenario. It was like the human was waving a candy bar in a child's face, but they were unable to eat it. It was forbidden to me, and things that were forbidden just made me want them all the more.

I don't know how long I stood there and watched him sleep. He looked so peaceful and calm, quiet as he slumbered. It was amazing how creatures that could be so cruel – I knew, because I had seen what they could do first hand – could look like such angels. It was torture to smell so good…maybe he really was an angel, and I was the demon. Yes, that's the right description. As I sat there, watching him, I contemplated how much it would hurt for me to actually kill the angel. It wouldn't take all that long…

But I could imagine it now. Alice would be sick with rage at me that one, I had blown our cover, and two, I had killed a human. I quickly thought against the idea. But still, the idea of sneaking him away was still in my mind. I could lead him away from the house in the dark of night, no one would even know he was gone until it was too late…

I stood at the foot of his bed, my head tilted slightly to the side as I watched him sleep. I watched the slow rise and fall of his chest, the shifting of his skin as he breathed. I could see his eyes moving beneath their lids…he was dreaming.

I wish I could dream, I thought dryly. I missed sleeping. Back then, if I had known that I was going to become this…this monster, I would have quickly, gladly gone to sleep so I could dream enough to last me the rest of eternity…but it had been a split-second decision, and I hadn't had any say in it.

He shifted again on the bed and I quickly, silently darted back behind the wardrobe, watching him carefully from around the corner. He shifted again, though he was still asleep. He groaned in heavy discomfort, my brow creasing in confusion. Was he really sick, like Rose had said?

I began to go towards the bed, fighting with the monster that wanted me to attack him, to kill him, to drink his warm, delectable smelling blood. Finally I made it to his bed and I sat down on the edge, careful not to jostle the mattress.

He was shifting into a restless slumber, and I watched him silently as he began to mumble, his face becoming contorted slightly with his dream. He was flushed in the face, and I could tell the signs of a fever when I saw one. He began to toss and turn slightly, his eyes shutting tightly though he still did not awaken.

Carefully, quietly, I reached over. I wanted to place my hand on his forehead, to see how hot he was. Just before my hand made contact with his skin, I stopped. I had never willingly touched a human yet. I swallowed, and slowly placed my hand on his forehead.

He let out a heavy breath of relief and snuggled closer to me, because to him, I was like a giant ice pack. Soon he was half curled on my lap, though I didn't really mind. His wonderful smell swirled all around me as he moved more onto my lap, and I kept my hand on his forehead. Slowly, I let my fingers gently thread through his hair, watching him sleep as he drifted off into a deeper, more relaxed slumber.

His skin felt like fire against mine, but I ignored the hot feeling. I didn't exactly mind. Just having him close like this was enough. I was amazed that I had such strong self control over myself at the moment.

I closed my eyes as I fully brought him onto my lap and he curled up slightly, his head resting on my shoulder, as I moved to go further onto the bed, leaning against the headboard while I wrapped a blanket around him.

I held him like this for the rest of the night, making sure that he was comfortable. When I heard someone coming down the hallway, though, I stiffened slightly.

"Edward?"

I quickly moved from beneath him and lied him back down on the bed, covered him with the sheets, and ran to his closet, just managing to shut the door as they came in.

Esme walked inside, still in pajamas. She went over to him, sat on the edge of the bed, and placed a hand to his forehead. She sighed, shaking her head and stood silently. I heard her walk out again, and only came back out of the closet when I was sure she was gone.

I went back over to the bed, where Edward was beginning to shift around a bit in discomfort. I reached down to gently run my hand over his flushed, heated cheek before I leaned down. I kissed his forehead, keeping my jaws clenched together so I wouldn't have the urge to bite him. I then sighed as he settled back down, watching him slip into a deeper sleep again.

With that, I headed for the door and slipped out, going back to Rose's room.

She and Alice were still playing a card game, though this time they were actually playing for real money, and it looked like they were currently tied with the same amount.

"Have a good night with your boyfriend?" Alice asked me without looking up, and I glared.

"Hah hah," I grumbled, slumping down onto the floor to make a semi-circle with them, watching as Rose dealt a card.

"What're you talking about?" Rose mused, though her voice was slightly distracted as she concentrated on the cards that were in her hand.

"Oh, Bells just let a kid sleep in her lap last night is all," Alice commented, and Rose tured to look at me with wide eyes.

"What?" she demanded, a smile on her face. "Is that where you were all night?"

"Uh huh," Alice confirmed before I could even speak.

"Why?" Rose questioned. "How did you do it?"

I shrugged. "He was hot…he had a fever…" I'm sure that if I could have blushed then I would have. "So…I put my hand on his forehead and he relaxed…curled up around me and I just put him on my lap and let him sleep there…" My voice was becoming shy and sheepish. "I only really thought about attacking him when I first went in…"

Alice hummed. "Looks like Bells' got a crush!" she squealed, throwing her cards up into the air, and Rose laughed as Alice was suddenly crashing into her with a laugh, hugging onto Rose's neck. They pulled away from each other, smiled deviously, and turned to look at me.

"No…oh no!" I gasped just before they both tackled me, hugging me like crazy.

I groaned, managing to shove the two of them off of me. "Shut up, guys…it's not that big of a deal…besides, he's a human. A human, for God's sake!" Even though I didn't believe in God, I tacked on silently at the end. "I'm a monster! I can't fall in love with a human, think about it!"

"So?" Rose asked in a whisper, her smile falling. Alice lowered her head slightly, looking down at the floor. She was suddenly completely silent, something that rarely happened.

"What?" I asked the two of them.

"We like humans, too, you know…" Rose whispered as Alice got up and walked out. "You know how you said that he smells so good to you?"

I nodded, looking after Alice as I watched her go into the adjoining bathroom, shutting the door to begin quietly whimpering.

"Well, you're not the only one living with someone who smells so good," Rose said sharply to me before she stood, as well, walking off to go to the bathroom too, pulling Alice into a hug once she had the door open.

I sat there, dumbfounded.

I couldn't possibly be in love with a human…

Or could I?

**Okay, I know, it probably sucked. I'm sorry…but it will get better, I promise! If you have any ideas that you want in the story, please leave them in a review!**

**Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**EPOV**

As I woke, I sighed. I had slept so well last night, somehow, with all of the things making me feel like crap.

I brought an arm up to cover my eyes. My room was bright, but I knew that it wasn't from a light, it was from my floor to ceiling windows. I could tell it was well into the morning. I pushed myself up onto my elbows, looking at my clock. It was ten thirty.

I sighed. I'd been sleeping for over twelve hours. I was amazed I had made it through the night without waking up. I remember vaguely half waking. My bed felt like a giant ice pack, and it had felt so good that I drifted right back to sleep without a second thought.

Shaking my head, I got up and off the bed, grimacing at the discomfort I felt from my sore joints, which I'm sure was a side affect from the fever I knew I had.

I went to my bathroom and got into the shower, washing my hair. I stood in the water for a long while, just letting the water splash over my body and in my face as I tried to wake up more. After my shower, I got out and dried off, looking at my reflection in the mirror. The bags under my eyes were a bit faded today, and I smiled. I felt like I had energy, for once.

I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked out of the bathroom, going to my closet to pull out a pair of boxers and pajama bottoms, then a t-shirt. After pulling them all on, I realized I didn't match, but I shrugged. I wasn't going anywhere special.

I stretched as I walked out of my room, yawning ever so slightly. I could hear the tv on in Jasper's room, and knocked quietly.

"It's open!"

I turned the knob to go in, blinking at seeing a girl sitting on the bed beside Jasper. Alice was her name, I think?

"Morning!" she chirped happily. "You look better today."

At hearing this statement, Jasper turned to look at me and he smiled.

"Yes, you do," he agreed with a smile. "Come sit, watch a bit of the movie with us."

Blinking, I began to slowly walk over to the couch. Was this Alice girl a witch or something? Jasper seemed so…so comfortable with her, and he usually hated new people. I sat down at the end of the couch he had, watching as Alice snuggled up against Jasper's shoulder from on the other side of him, her head resting on his shoulder. He had his arm around her, a bowl of popcorn sitting on the couch between me and him.

"Want some?"

"Popcorn for breakfast?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, but I took some anyway. I was hungry, for once. I eyed him as I munched on the popcorn, raising an eyebrow when he looked at me and away from the movie. I jabbed a finger in the air towards Alice, a confused expression on my face. He just smirked and shook his head, looking back to the movie.

I watched the movie with them for half an hour, looking up as I heard my mother yelling my name. I sighed and carefully stood, nodded to Jasper and Alice, before I turned to walk back out of the room.

"Edward, there you are!" I turned to see Esme coming out of my room, and I managed a smile.

"How are you feeling today?" she asked me. I shrugged.

"I could be better," I murmured quietly, rubbing the back of my neck.

She reached up, tousling my hair slightly with a motherly smile. "Come," she whispered to me, "I made some toast for you."

I smiled. "Thanks, Mom," I said as I followed her down the stairs.

When we arrived down in the kitchen, I sat at one of the barstools and Esme placed a plate with a few pieces of toast on it in front of me.

"Thanks," I said again as I picked up a piece, eating at it.

"You're welcome, Edward," she said with a smile, patting the top of my head, before she turned to walk out of the kitchen, leaving me alone as I ate.

"Excuse me…"

I jumped as I heard the voice right behind me and I turned as quickly as I could, breathing a little heavy. I hadn't even heard her come up…

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to scare you…"

"No, no it's fine…" I whispered as I caught my breath, my heartbeat slowing as I looked up at her. It was the brunette who had glared at me so fiercely the night before. I swallowed slightly. "It's fine…"

**BPOV**

"No, no it's fine…" I heard him whisper, though I could hear clearly what he said. I was listening to the slowing of his heartbeat as he calmed from the scare I'd apparently given him. I watched him swallow before he whispered again, "It's fine…"

I smiled slightly. "I wanted to apologize for last night," I said quietly, and I was sure that I would have blushed if I could. "I shouldn't have been so rude."

He looked up at me, a bit shocked, and I smiled slightly. He looked like he was in a daze as he stared up at me. He then seemed to mentally shake himself, offering me a smile himself.

"I didn't get a chance to introduce myself, either," I said. "I'm Bella."

"It's nice to meet you, Bells," he said with a smile. The nickname slipped so easily from his mouth it seemed, and I smiled. "I'm Edward."

"I gathered," I said with a laugh. I smiled down at him, and he seemed to be in a daze after hearing my laughter. "It's a pleasure."

He smiled at me after a moment, cocking his head slightly to the side.

"I'm sorry about last night, really, I am," I said as I took up the barstool beside him, watching as he turned to pick up another piece of toast, munching at it hungrily.

"Don't worry about it," he assured me. I placed a hand on his arm and smiled, and knew instantly that he was telling the truth. He didn't seem to mind, though.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked him with a smile. Of course, I already knew the answer, but I couldn't let him know that.

"Surprisingly, yes," he said, sounding amazed. "I almost woke up once…" I tensed, waiting for the bombard of questions. "…but I was so cool and comfy and I just fell right back asleep without a second thought." I stopped holding my breath. "What about you?"

I blinked as he asked me this, and I tilted my head in question.

"Did you sleep well?"

I smiled slightly. "In a manner of speaking," I told him with a smile. It wasn't a lie, either. I could never lie, even if I wanted to.

"That's good," he said, reaching for a second piece of toast. "So…tell me about you or your past? If you wouldn't mind?"

I blinked at this question, sitting there for a moment. Here I'd just met the kid, really, five minutes ago and he was already asking me to tell him about him! What, was this kid insane? Did he really want to die?

"Well, I was born here in Washington state," I told him, settling back a bit as he munched on his toast, watching me with interested eyes. "My mother, though, divorced my father and moved down to Phoenix. I lived with her until a couple of years or so ago, when I told her I wanted to come here. I was home schooled by my mother, and I graduated a few years ahead of my class. About three years ago I moved up here with my father…he's the police chief here in Forks."

"Oh, I remember hearing about you," he said with a smile. "But I never got the chance to actually meet you. I would have loved to."

"Yeah…I just stayed up here to try and find a job," I said with a shrug. "That's when I met Alice and Rose, and we began to do day jobs as maids…didn't really work out so well…but Rose's family was rather high up there, so we were able to get by even when we didn't have a job."

I sighed softly. It was a vague outline that I remembered…I never remembered much from my human life, and I'd had Rose and Alice explain to me what my life had been like…especially the aftermath.

"But one night I went home, and someone had broken into the house. Charlie – er, my father, I should say – was already dead…" I sighed, remembering only the gory details of finding his corpse. "I was taken by the group of men that broke into the house, beaten severely…I was…" I trailed off for a moment, not wanting to continue, but he seemed to know what I was going to say anyway. "I was raped, and then left for dead. Alice and Rose came to the house to find me the next day when I didn't show up for work. I nearly died."

Edward was confused then, looking down at me. "But Dad would have mentioned seeing you at the hospital – "

"I was taken care of elsewhere," I assured him with a smile, though it was a little sad as the few vivid memories I had of my previous life flashed through my mind. "I'm still pretty wary of men…that was my reasoning for the glare last night. I'm sorry."

"No, no, I completely understand," Edward said with a nod, his eyes slightly sympathetic as he watched me, now knowing what I had gone through. I looked at him, confused, about to ask him now he understood when he began to speak.

"See, my older brother, Jasper, is the same way. Pretty much the exact same thing happened to him around a year ago, too. He was missing for a few days until we were able to find out where he is…"

Edward sighed, and his eyes went down, but the words kept spilling from his mouth like he was trying to get rid of a venom that the words contained. "I found out where he was before the rest of the family…I sped there, but it was already too late…when I got there, I…I just went into a blind rage, and I nearly killed all of them…Jasper was just lying there, covered in blood and bruises…I went over to him and held him in my arms and tried to assure him that it was all right…I picked him up, and carried him out just as Dad was showing up, and…" He trailed off, and looked up at me.

"S-sorry…" he muttered as he looked up at me. "I'm sorry, I'm…I'm rambling. Sorry…"

I blinked for a moment, looking at him as he looked down, a light blush on his cheeks. The smell of his blood blossomed up from him and I closed my eyes for a moment, opening them again when I was sure I had complete control again.

"Don't worry about it…" I whispered. Now I knew, though, why the others were so careful of Jasper…and I'd be able to tell Alice, too, what was wrong with him.

Edward nodded, though he didn't look convinced. "I shouldn't have done that, Bella. I'm sorry."

I just shook my head again. "Don't worry, it's fine," I told him, patting his arm, my hand still resting gently on his skin. He didn't even seem to mind the frigid cold of my hands, which kind of shocked me. He actually seemed to like it…

"Hey, Eddie!"

I looked up at hearing someone clomping through the dining room and Emmett soon appeared in the doorway, his bittersweet scent filling my nostrils.

"Hey, I'm going to go see about picking up that pool table. You feel up to it?"

Edward looked at me, then over at Emmett again before looking back to me.

"You want to come, if I go?" Edward asked me, and I blinked for a moment before I started to nod.

"That's fine," I said, and smiled as I realized that I wouldn't have to go shopping with Alice and Rose now. I smiled in triumph as I heard Alice nearly scream in aggravation, though I knew that Edward and Emmett didn't hear it. I pressed my lips together so I could contain my laughter as Edward looked back at Emmett.

"Sure, I guess…could she come?" He jutted a thumb at me.

"That's okay with me," Emmett said with a shrug. "Jasper's coming, too, just so you know."

Edward nodded. "Give me a few minutes go get dressed."

"Sure thing," Emmett said as he turned and I heard him beginning to walk back up the stairs, humming to himself as he rummaged in his pockets for something.

"You really want me go with you?" I asked him as he began to slowly stand from the stool, beginning to head towards the door.

"Absolutely," he said with a smile back at me as he turned

"But why?" I questioned as I started to catch up to him, walking beside him gracefully up the stairs.

He shrugged. "I dunno," he said, offering me a crooked smile. "Just thought I'd ask."

"Well, thank you for this," I told him with a smile. "You're saving me from a day of torture."

"What're you talking about?" Edward asked as we reached the second floor landing, looking at me in confusion.

"You're saving me from – "

"Isabella Marie Swan!"

" – that…" I mumbled, rolling my eyes as I pointed, hearing Alice stomp down the hallway. Edward stopped, blinking in shock.

"You double crossing," Alice growled, stopping in front of me to put her hands on her hips, "little sneak! How dare you do this to me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Alice," I said calmly. Alice scowled, stomping her foot on the ground.

"Why aren't you coming with us?" she asked, scowling. I began to laugh.

"Alice, it's just a day trip shopping with the guys," I said with a smile, though it faltered slightly as I said 'the guys.' I hadn't realized I was going to be the only girl with three men.

She growled. "But you were supposed to go with us!" she huffed, now crossing her arms over her chest as she glared sharply at me.

"Alice, there are other days we can go," I told her, laughing.

"You have a job to do!" she tried to tell me.

"I'll do it when I get back, I have time," I told her.

Edward was just standing off to the side a bit, looking back and forth between us as we bantered.

"I have time," I repeated again to assure her, knowing that she would get the true meaning behind my words. "I promise."

"Fine, whatever, go," she growled, throwing her hands up in the air. "But Isabella Swan, if you put me off one more time, I swear to God, I'll – "

"I won't, Alice, I promise," I told her, rolling my eyes. "You can have my word on that promise." Which, indeed, she had. Her eyes went blank for a moment before she nodded in approval of something.

"I'm not going to forgive you, though, for what has taken place here," she said, raising an eyebrow dangerously.

"You lie," I said with a laugh. "You will forgive me, you'll see."

"Hey, Eddie, you ready to go?"

Alice and I looked up at hearing Emmett calling to Ed. He was stepping out of a room at the end of the hallway, which I knew was his bedroom.

"I'm not dressed yet," Edward said back, nodding to the two of us. "If you'll excuse me."

He nodded to the two of us before he turned to walk back towards the bedroom. I watched after him, but looked up as I heard a chuckle.

"What?" I asked as I turned to Alice, watching Rose come up behind her.

"You have no clue," Alice laughed, smiling at me as she turned to Rose. I watched after her in confusion. Hadn't she just been glaring at me just seconds ago? I rolled my eyes, moving to follow behind them to wait for Edward to get ready.

**JPOV**

I looked at myself in the mirror, grimacing slightly at my shirt. The sleeves weren't long enough. They didn't cover all the scars. I scowled, going for the closet again, pulling my shirt off over my head. I threw it in the trash. I wouldn't be wearing it again.

I rummaged through the clothes in my closet, pulling out a long sleeved one.

I pulled it on, sighing softly. I liked the color, except it was going to get hot. I closed my eyes for a moment, deciding that I would ignore this discomfort in order to save myself from another.

"Jasper, you ready yet?"

"Coming, Emmett!" I yelled, sighing as I looked into the mirror one more time, running a hand through my hair to ruffle it as I turned to walk out of my room, tugging my sleeves down around my wrists.

Emmett was waiting outside my room, smiling at me, though it fell slightly as his eyes fell on my hand, which was still tugging down the edge of the sleeve. He took my hand, looking up at me.

"Jasper," he told me, "you don't need to do that…it's fine."

"That's what you think," I grumbled as I tugged my hands away from him, finishing with what I was doing with my shirt. "Let's go."

"Hey, that Bella girl is coming with us, do you mind?" he asked me as we began to walk down the hallway.

I shook my head. "No," I told him with a small smile, "she seems nice enough…and I…can see something I recognize in her eyes."

Emmett nodded. "Suit yourself," he said. "I invited Rose and Alice to come with us, but they have to go shopping for something today…"

I sighed, suddenly put out slightly, and also a tad bit agitated. I wanted to stay with Alice…

"Can't we ask them to come with us?" I asked quietly, my head going down a bit. I didn't really know what I'd said until the words had already slipped out of my mouth. Emmett stopped and turned to look at me, confused. "Please?"

I could feel his gaze on me, and could almost sense his perplexity.

"Uh…sure, we could…but I already did…" Emmett said with a shrug.

"We could try again…" My tone was hopeful. What was I even doing? I was confusing myself…but when I was with Alice, she always had just a calm, gentle feeling about her, and I wanted her near. It helped me to calm easier.

"Fine, we can go ask," Emmett told me as he pat my shoulder. I lifted my head a bit and smiled at him as we began to go down the hall.

I knocked on the doorframe of the girl's room, looking in through the open door.

They were sitting on a bed, and looked up when they heard me. I smiled shyly at them, but my eyes rested on Alice.

"Uhm…I wanted to ask if you ladies would like to come with us today," I mumbled out, feeling my cheeks growing hot with embarrassment.

There was a giggle, but before I could lift my head I felt arms around my neck. I stiffened until I was released, looking up to see Alice. She was smiling widely at me, and nodding.

"Yeah, yeah," she breathed in a rush, smiling. "We just gotta tell your mother that we're going!" She squealed, running around me to go out of the room quickly.

I blinked, looking over at Rosalie as she began to laugh.

"You look like you were just scared out of your wits," she told me with a smile as she began to get off of the bed. "Looks like we won't be able to go today…"

Bella groaned. "I was hoping you two would just go today without me," she grumbled. "I would much rather deal with them," she jutted her thumb at Emmett and I, "than with you guys."

"Awww, gee, thanks, Bells, we fell so loved now," Emmett said with a roll of his eyes, though there was a smirk on his face.

Bella actually laughed, and I smiled at the sound. I don't know why, but she made me feel at ease, and I could feel an innocent, easygoing feeling washing off of her in waves.

"Well, come on, we can meet her downstairs," Emmett said as he put his hand on my shoulder again, gently steering me back out of the room, though he hung back until Rosalie caught up to him. He smiled goofily at her, walking along beside her.

I rolled my eyes, stopping outside Edward's closed door. "Edward?" I called gently, knocking on the door slightly. "You ready to go?"

"Jus' a sec!" I heard a call come from inside, and I chuckled.

He emerged from his room a moment later, smiling. "I had to brush my teeth," he told us, putting his hands in the pockets of his blue jeans. "Let's go."

"Wait," I said, and Edward stopped, turning to look at me in confusion.

"What?"

I smiled down at my younger brother, reaching up to ruffle his hair a bit.

"There, now it looks better," I said, laughing as I jogged ahead of him a bit, hearing him groan a bit behind me.

We met Alice downstairs in the entrance hall, bouncing on the balls of her toes.

"Oh, Alice, calm down, you're going to scare the poor things," Rosalie said to her, patting her shoulder gently.

Alice let out a squeal as she saw me, dancing over to me to smile up into my eyes.

"Ready to go?" I asked with a chuckle, and she nodded.

"Uh huh," she agreed with a wide smile. I laughed as she began to pull me towards the door, walking a bit faster to catch up to her. We walked out towards the garage and we all got into Emmett's Jeep Wrangler, which was the only one that the six of us could all fit in.

Rosalie sat in the front with Emmett, and I sat in the middle with Alice, Edward and Bella sitting in the back behind us.

Emmett backed out of the garage to turn around and begin going down the long drive in silence. Rosalie reached over to turn on the radio, picking a heavy metal band and smiled over at him. "This okay with you?" she asked him.

"Well," he said, smiling over at her, "anything that's okay with you is okay with me."

"Oh good God…" I groaned, rolling my eyes. "No lovey-dovey flirting crap…"

Alice, Bella and Edward began to laugh as Emmett pulled out onto the road and began to drive towards Seattle, where Emmett was going to get the pool table.

We were sitting in silence as we rode down the road, but soon, the silence was shattered as Alice suddenly jumped beside me.

"Swerve, Emmett!" Alice screamed, and I looked at her in alarm, then ahead of the car. There wasn't anything that seemed to be dangerous around us.

"Emmett, SWERVE!" she screamed just as a cord snapped on the eighteen wheeler right in front of us.

**Okay, there you go! I hope you enjoy it! :) Please review to let me what you think, and tell me what you think is going to happen!**

**And just to note, it may be a while before I am able to update again!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me for the long update!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**EPOV**

It all seemed to be a blur to me. Alice began to scream in the seat ahead of me, telling Emmett to swerve. I was confused, trying to figure out what the hell was even going on.

Next thing I knew, even in the car, I heard a loud snap and my gaze found the eighteen wheeler truck in front of us. It was a logging truck, carrying a sum of tree trunks on the back. One of the wide straps holding the trunks down had snapped, and the trunks were beginning to come towards us. I think I heard someone scream, but it wasn't any of the girls.

"Holy _shit_!" Emmett shouted before he, at the last second, swerved and missed the logs. I heard a crash behind our car, meaning that the one behind us had met the fate that we had just barely missed. The hummer skid across the road, the turn too sharp to correct, and I heard a loud scraping noise and a screech. We all lurched to a stop, and I heard Emmett's breathing become very loud and shaky. Jasper was panicking in the seat in front of me. Alice was trying to calm him.

I was just sitting there in shock, beginning to shake.

The loud music from the radio was still blaring until I heard a click and it turned off. It was eerily silent in the hummer now that there was no sound.

"Is everyone all right?" I heard Bella ask as arms came around me. I shook more as she held me, thinking of just how close we had all come to dying. I rested my head against her chest, falling silent.

"I am," Rosalie said calmly, turning to place a hand on Emmett's arm, reaching over to begin prying his fingers off of his poor steering wheel.

"I am, as well," Alice said quietly as she held a nearly-sobbing Jasper to her chest, whispering gentle words to him.

"A-Alice…thank you…" I heard Emmett whisper from the front seat, and, slowly, he began to unbuckle his seat belt now that his hands were off of the steering wheel. He began to get out to inspect the damage done by what we had crashed into, and I looked. I couldn't see anything, but I knew that it was probably a guard rail. Rosalie began to get out of the car, as well.

"Edward?"

I jumped at hearing the voice above me, and I slowly lifted my shaking head. Bella was staring at me intently.

"Are you all right?" she asked me, and I nodded shakily before resting my head back against her shoulder. I tried to stop my shaking, but it wasn't exactly working all that well.

"Y-yeah," I whispered, and after a moment began to try and pull away to get out of the car, and I was almost halfway out when Bella grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Don't worry, you don't have to get out," she told me. "The car's fine."

"How do you…?" I asked, a confused look on my face

"Whatever it is, Rose'll fix it," she assured me. I was still shaking, and I didn't even resist as she pulled me back into her arms to calm me more, and it began to work. She smelled so sweet, and welcoming. I looked up at her and she was looking out of the car after something. I assumed it was Emmett.

"How'll she fix it?" I murmured softly, listening to the sounds of Jasper's panicked sobs slowly fading into nothing.

"She's a grease monkey," Bella told me with a gentle smile.

I nodded, sniffling as Emmett got back into the hummer, Rosalie following suit. He strapped back in, and said, "Just a scratch on the paint…nothing major, thanks to Alice."

"No problem," I heard Alice say softly.

I stayed in Bella's arms as Emmett started to pull back onto the street. I could hear sirens, which meant that someone had already called the cops…probably the poor truck driver. I leaned against her chest in the silence of the hummer, and just as she began to pull away, I realized something. It was way too quiet as I leaned against her. I didn't hear the quiet thumping that was similar to the sound that had been rushing through my ears just minutes before.

Bella didn't have a heartbeat.

**EMPOV**

After our near-death experience, I was more on edge, more ready for something than before. I had noticed that Alice had long since ditched her seat belt in an effort to sit closer to Jasper, but I had a feeling that if something else happened, Jasper was safe with her.

She was sitting right beside him, her arms around him as she whispered softly into his ear in her musical little voice. I think I even saw her kiss his cheek a few times, but I could have been imagining it with all the adrenaline running through my system.

I felt a cold touch on my arm before I turned my head. Rosalie was watching me, her hand on my arm.

"Your hands are cold…" I whispered, concerned.

"And your hands are going to break the steering wheel," she murmured.

I looked back at it, blinking in surprise to see that my grip looked about ready to break the wheel. I loosened my grip, and whispered, "Thank you, Rosalie," before falling silent.

I saw her nod out the corner of my eye, though I didn't turn to look at her again.

The rest of the ride to the sports store was quiet, and it didn't take long for me to go in and pay for the pool table. Edward and Jasper stayed in the car, Alice and Bella staying with them. Rosalie came with me, though I think she just wanted to make sure that I was alright.

While I was picking up the table, she wondered off, coming back a few minutes with a shopping bag in her hand.

"What's that?" I asked her curiously.

"Car paint," she replied, smiling. "There's a car repair shop just next door."

I nodded. "You're really going to fix my hummer?"

Rosalie chuckled. "I did say I was going to, didn't I?" she asked, lightly shoving my shoulder as I put my wallet back into my pocket. I walked with her back outside, a couple of the workers from the store carrying the boxed pool table out to the hummer.

I just smiled as I opened the back hatch for them, and afterwards closed it. I thanked them as I headed for the drivers side, getting inside. As I did, I looked back to see Edward and Jasper both asleep.

I chuckled. "Did you lull them to sleep, or did they just conk out themselves?"

Alice smiled. "Themselves," she replied softly.

"That's good," I whispered as Rosalie climbed into the car. I drove out of the parking lot as quietly as I could, trying not to wake up my brothers. We did stop to get us all something to eat, though we did just go through a drive-through so we didn't have to wake them up.

When we got back, Bella just picked Edward up and brought him up to his room with his food so that he could eat and then go right back to sleep, I assumed.

Alice woke up Jasper and the two of them went off with their food, and as I ate, I watched Rosalie as she began to fix up the nasty scratch on my car, buffing it at and then watched her work.

"You're amazing," I said around a bite of hamburger.

"Oh?" she asked, not looking up at me as she worked.

"Yeah…I mean, what kind of girl fixes the paint on a car?" I asked, smiling sweetly at her as I worked on a few of my fries.

"Ah," Rosalie said, and, though her back was to me, I could tell there was at least a slight smile on her face.

"_My_ car, nonetheless," I said, smiling, as I stood to go over to her. "So, uh…where'd you learn to work on cars so well?" I asked, leaning against the side of my hummer as I watched her.

"My dad was a grease monkey," she said softly. "My mom had to work all the time, and he had to work, too…and my mom was too busy to get me a babysitter, and dad always couldn't get me one, so sometimes he would bring me along. He taught me how the engine of a car works, how to take out dents, scratches, scuffs, wax a car, take it apart completely, down to the last screw, and then be able to clean it and put it back together…his company was a hot shot one, so…he earned a lot of money."

I listened, nodding. This was really the first insight I had on any of these three girl's lives…but really, this was the only one I was really interested in.

"So, what do you like to do?" I asked her.

"Work on cars," she said, turning finally to toss a dazzling smile my way.

"Other than working on cars," I laughed.

"I'd have to say gardening, or cooking," she smiled. "Well, what about you?"

"Protecting my brothers," I said, watching her as she giggled. "What? It's true!"

"Nothing, Em," she said, the shortened nickname making my heart swell, "nothing at all."

**EPOV**

As I began to wake up, I groaned. I was hot, but I was still shivering. I sat up, clutching a blanket around me. I looked out my window, and could tell it was close to noon without even looking at my clock.

I tried to bury my face into my pillow again as I fell back, whimpering quietly. I felt horrible, again. I just wanted to sleep…

"Edward!"

I grunted, though it was muffled from the pillow.

I heard my door open, and then someone walking further into the room. The steps stopped a few feet from my bed.

"Edward, it's time for lunch…" It was Jasper. His voice was quiet and slightly insecure as he stood there, sounding sorry that he was waking me up for this. He probably thought I looked bad enough.

"I'm not hungry…" I mumbled quietly, my voice once again muffled by the feathery pillow. I heard the footsteps come closer to the bed, and then felt him sit on the side of the mattress, a hand carefully running up and down my back.

"Edward…you need to eat…you haven't eaten since lunch yesterday," Jasper told me. "I can tell, you're feeling horrible…I know…I've been there." He sighed. "Please. Come eat."

I knew he wasn't going to give up. I sighed, sitting up slightly to look over at him. The nausea in my stomach suddenly spiked and I could just feel myself turning green. I clenched my jaws together, closing my eyes for a moment as I fought for control. Jasper's hand never stopped moving up and down my back, even as I leaned over and began to wretch into my waste basket beside the bed, getting rid of what little was messing with my stomach.

When I managed to get past the wave of dizziness and weakness that assailed my body after the episode, I wiped at the corners of my mouth with the back my hand, looking over at Jasper with slightly watery eyes. They weren't tears, per se; they were just from an automatic gag reaction. Well…they weren't tears yet. I could feel them coming, though.

He shook his head gently, still rubbing my back. "Edward, it's fine," he whispered. "I don't mind doing this for you. I'm not embarrassed or disgusted, and you shouldn't feel humiliated. So you're sick, you can't keep yourself from it. It shouldn't make you feel bad that you can't be strong all the time in front of you family. I, of all people, know what it feels like."

I looked up at him, swallowing the bile that was still in my throat. I nodded, but I could still feel the tears falling as I looked to the side. I felt so embarrassed. The last time I was ever sick was when I was six, and the only person who ever saw me get sick was Esme.

He kept one hand going up and down my back, which continued to soothe my stomach, and reached up with the other to wipe the tears from my face.

"Edward, I promise you," he whispered before he carefully pulled me into a hug, where I slowly began to calm in his arms, "I don't mind doing this."

I nodded meekly against his shoulder as I rested against him, closing my green eyes. He held me gently, and soon I was relaxed, my shaking the last to go.

"You think you could handle some crackers?" he asked me, and I slowly nodded, trying not to upset my stomach again. "Come on, I'll help you down the stairs."

"Ugh…stairs…" I groaned as he got off the bed, pulling the covers off of me before he held out a hand and took my arm, helping me up. He put one of my arms around his shoulders and put an arm around my waist.

He smiled grimly. "Only disadvantage to our home," he agreed with a nod as he began to help me downstairs.

**JPOV**

I looked my younger brother over as I got off of the bed, taking his appearance in really for the first time since I came in a few minutes ago. His eyes were dull, dark bags hanging heavy under his eyes, his eyelids darkened, too. He looked exhausted. He looked pale and a little green, and he was shaking with weakness. I could feel it radiating off of him.

Even though he was pale, his face was flushed slightly with fever, and his hair was slightly plastered to his neck and forehead with sweat. But, like I had said, I didn't mind at all.

I pulled back the covers for Edward so he wouldn't get tangled in them, taking one of his hands to help him up. He shook like a leaf against me, but I held him steady next to me. I put an arm around my shoulders, holding it there with one hand while I put my other around his waist.

I helped him walk out of the room and down the hall, and when we reached the stairs I helped him down them, one by one. I would go down first, and then I'd hold him steady as he went down after me.

It took us a few minutes to make it down to the kitchen, and as we walked in, conversation stopped. By this time, he was shaking with fatigue against me, but I held him up firmly, yet gently. I didn't wait to see what Carlisle and Esme were doing, just headed straight for the kitchen. I knew that Emmett and the girls were all in here, but I was going to ignore them for now. Edward, in my book, came first. He had been the one to rescue me…he always came first, and this wasn't an exception.

When we got there, I led him over to a stool and sat him down. After he sat down, he let out a shaky breath of relief. I could almost feel his discomfort and knew he was downright miserable. I felt that way at the moment, as well, because every time someone close to me felt as bad as Edward was now, I was able to feel what they felt…it was odd, as though I could almost sense their emotions. I was always told I was a sensitive person…I guess I never believed it until now.

As Edward sat down, I went to dig in the pantry, pulling out a box of crackers. I covered the pots on the stove to prevent the smell of food from messing with Edward more.

I held out the saltines to him, and he looked at me pitifully as he took them. I was confused for a moment as to the reason of his look, but then he began to try and weakly pull the plastic apart to open the package. With a sympathetic look, I took it from his hands and opened it after a moment of struggle. I pulled a few out for him, holding them out for him.

"You should be eating…" he whispered quietly. He was beginning to feel guilty, I could tell from his tone.

I shook my head. "I'll eat later, Edward. You come first. You're the one who's sick, not me."

"But if you don't eat, you'll get sick…" he tried to reason with me, and I just shook my head.

"Don't worry about it, Edward. I will eat. I don't mind doing this, not one bit." I smiled gently at him, reaching over to ruffle my little brother's hair a bit, though I was careful not to jostle his head and make him feel sick again.

I watched him in silence as he nibbled slowly at the crackers, and when he finished the ones I had in my hand, I got one more and held it in front of his nose. He grimaced and whimpered, looking at me with a miserable expression. "Last one, Edward," I told him.

"Jazz…I feel sick already…" he muttered, eyeing the cracker with deep disdain. "Are you trying to make me barf all over you?"

I chuckled at his half-joke, though after a moment it subsided. "Eat this, and I'll leave you alone."

He nodded after a moment and took the cracker, and took another couple minutes to finish it off.

"There," I said. "Want to go back up to your room?" I could tell there was concern in my voice, but I didn't care. I hated seeing Edward so sick.

"No," he grumbled meekly. I looked at him, confused. "It's too much work…" he clarified after a moment, looking to the side. I could hear the humiliation in his tone as he whispered, "I'm too weak to make it up the stairs again…"

"That's fine," I said, coming around the bar again to look down at him. "I'll carry you. Where do you want to go?"

"Jazz…you don't have to do that," he whispered quietly, sounding embarrassed now that I was offering to carry him somewhere. His cheeks blushed a light pink with his embarrassment, and I knelt down, looking up at him. I lifted his chin just barely so he was looking into my eyes.

"Edward, I will do anything for you. You are my savior, and I want you to be happy," I whispered, shoving back painful memories as I looked up at him. "Where do you want me to take you?"

**BPOV**

I sat back in my chair, watching the humans eat. Rose, Alice and I told the other humans that we had eaten already, and they nodded without further question. Watching them eat was an interesting experience, watching them chew up the food and then swallow it. It was strange to watch people being…well, people, when I was a monster in disguise. I knew our beauty was just a mask to make our prey easier to catch.

Esme would make comments, and Carlisle would agree and make another. I had met him that first night we moved in…he was nice. I learned from Esme that he was a surgeon, very good at his work. He was young; he would be a perfect candidate to become what I was, though I was not willing to offer him that 'gift.' No human should have to be turned into a monster such as me.

I was, however, curious as to why Jasper and Edward weren't down yet. I wondered how Edward was feeling…he had seemed to be doing better yesterday after he'd gotten to bed, though he hadn't really slept all that well…

I heard two sets of slow footsteps on the stairs and I lifted my head slightly. Rose and Alice did the same, though just barely. The door opened and Jasper walked in slowly, supporting Edward as he went. My eyes went wide, a feeling of dread slipping into my stomach. I swallowed, turning to look at Rose and Alice.

Rose didn't seem as troubled about it as I was, but Alice, I knew, was frantically searching the future for any information on what was going on. She looked at me after a moment and shrugged helplessly, mouthing, 'Sorry,' as she did.

I heard Esme drop her fork and the three Cullens in the room suddenly became very quiet, watching Jasper help Edward towards the kitchen.

When they were gone, I looked over at Esme. "Is Edward sick like this often?" I questioned, trying to get a few answers.

Esme shook her head as she slowly picked up the fork. "No, he hasn't been sick since he was six, and when that happened his brothers and Carlisle were out camping," she told me. "I was the only one here with him."

I nodded, biting my lip as I looked down at the table cloth in front of me. I wasn't sure how long I sat there, but I felt a hand on my arm and I lifted my head, seeing Rose giving me a sympathetic look.

"What's with the look?" I asked, confused.

"Does he still smell so good?" she asked me quietly.

I sniffed, trying to tell. "It's…sort of dulled, but it's still there."

She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before she turned to whisper in Alice's ear so I couldn't hear.

I was feeling left out, and I hated it.

**APOV**

"Edward is dying, Alice."

My eyes widened at the words, and I began to furiously search ahead into the future for something, anything that could clarify what Rose had just said or deny it completely. Suddenly, it came to me.

Bella was sitting on Edward's bed, and he was sleeping in her lap. He was comfortable, for the time being, in her arms, his forehead resting against the bare cool skin of her neck. Esme and Carlisle were standing by the edge of the bed, watching the two of them with saddened eyes. They looked at each other, then looked at Edward and nodded up to Bella.

Slowly, Bella leaned down, placing her lips gently against Edward's neck before she quickly bit into it.

"NO!" I yelled, shooting up from my chair, my eyes wide and frantic. I looked over at Bella, who was looking up at me in shock. Carlisle, Esme and Emmett stopped talking, looking up at me wildly in alarm and confusion.

Rose had clenched her jaw, her hands balled into fists on her lap. She was looking down at her hands, trying desperately not to look up at me.

"I'm sorry," I breathed quickly before I stood, breezing out of the room, probably a bit faster than I thought I should. I went straight for the kitchen sink, almost pushing Jasper out of the way. I realized after I'd passed him, his wondrous scent filling my nostrils, that he was carrying Edward in his arms, but I really didn't stop.

As soon as I reached the sink I turned on the cold water and splashed it over my face. It felt nice, the water dripping over my skin. I continued to search the future, but that was the only vision that I could see.

I didn't want to think of what Bella was going to do…and I'd have to stay away from her, too…because I couldn't lie to her.

Lying to Bella was about as bad as a human waving a piece of raw meat in front of a ravenous wolf.

I must have been in my own little world at the sink, splashing my face with water, because I didn't hear the near silent footsteps behind me.

"Alice?"

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**That's it! Please review to let me know what you think!**

**Who is it that's in the kitchen now with Alice? What do they want? Please give me your thoughts!**

**By the way, I'm sorry for the late chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**BPOV**

"Alice?"

Alice whipped around from where she stood beside the sink, her eyes wide with surprise. Surprised? Alice was never surprised.

"Oh…Bella…" she whispered quietly, swallowing.

I stared at her. "What's up with you…?" I asked, sounding confused.

"It's…it's complicated, Bells…" she whispered, watching me with a tortured little gaze. Seeing the way Alice was acting…it scared me.

"I'm pretty sure that I can follow," I replied. "What's wrong?"

She watched me, opening her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. She tried once more, but just ended up keeping her mouth closed.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, quickly going around me and to the back door before I could stop her, taking off out the kitchen door that led to the back yard.

I stared after her. What was up with her? She was…scared…and she wasn't saying anything. Usually, she didn't want to say anything to me so she didn't have to lie…but why?

Well then, if Alice wasn't going to tell me, Rose sure would.

…right?

I walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Rose was gone. I turned to Esme, who was picking up Carlisle and Emmett's plates.

"Where did Rose go?" I asked her, my head tilted to the side.

"I think that she went to go take a look at the garden out front, Bella," she told me, and I nodded, heading for the entrance hall. I opened the door, following Rose's sweet scent. It wasn't long until I reached its source.

Rose was knelt down in the middle of a garden, roses and tulips surrounding her. She lifted her head at hearing my approach, her head tilted in question.

"What's wrong?" she asked me, confused.

"What's wrong with Alice?" I asked, swallowing. "She won't…talk to me."

"I don't know," Rose said automatically. I clenched my fist, my teeth grinding together. My mind was screaming at me, my senses suddenly heightened.

"That's a lie!" I snarled, and suddenly I was beside her, my hand at her throat. "Don't you dare lie to me, Rose! I know when you do, and it hurts!" She looked up at me with eyes that were emotionally pained. "Tell me, Rose. Now."

"I…I can't," she whispered, closing her eyes and looking to the side.

"Why!?" I screamed, throwing her to the side and into a tulip bush. She slowly sat back up, her eyes to the ground. "Tell me what's wrong with Alice, Rose. Now."

"I can't," she answered in a whisper.

"Why?" I asked again, anger coursing through my veins.

"Because…because I don't want to hurt you, Bells…"

My anger calmed almost instantly, looking down at her. "Why…why would you hurt me, Rose?"

Her butterscotch eyes lifted for a moment, flickering up to me, before they went to the ground.

"What? Are you not going to say anything to me, either?" I growled. "Why won't you tell me?"

"I can't," she whispered again, and I glared down at her, about to attack.

It was then, though, that I froze as I realized what she was saying.

"Does it…have something to do with Edward?"

She didn't answer me. I was silent, staring down at her.

"It does…doesn't it?" I asked. "What's wrong with Edward?"

Rose sighed, not looking at me. Something wasn't right…something was not right in this…

When she wouldn't answer me was my last straw. Letting out a huff and a frustrated grunt, I turned on my heel and stalked back to the house. Just as I was stomping my way into the house, music reached my ears. I slowed to a stop in the entrance hall, listening. Something was…so beautiful. I followed the sound, further down the hallway, and into the livingroom.

**JPOV**

Edward sat beside me, playing the piano. He wasn't watching the keys, his eyes closed even, as he played.

He looked so peaceful, the most that I'd seen in the past week. He'd been so sick, and just now, he seemed to have more life than normal. I had tried to convince him to go to sleep, but he refused at first…but, then, we made our compromise.

He got to stay awake, and play the piano until he fell asleep. So, there I was, sitting on the piano bench beside him, shoulder to shoulder, incase he fell asleep mid-song.

Edward then slipped in the music from a lively piece to a much more gentle song, slow and beautiful.

"Edward, what is this one?" I asked him softly.

He smiled for the first time in days, his eyes still closed. "I don't know…" he answered honestly. "I…really don't know. Ever since the girls showed up, I've been waking up with…music in my head. Beautiful music, inspired by something. I don't know what…but I wake up to it every morning…so I thought, today, I'd put it to my ears and see how it sounded."

I smiled. "It sounds beautiful, Edward," I told him honestly, and he smiled, resting his head on my shoulder as he played.

I put my arm around my younger brother's shoulders, listening to the piano piece that sounded like a lullaby. I lifted my eyes, but didn't move, as I saw movement in the corner of my eye.

Bella stood in the doorway, watching the two of us as Edward played…though, really, her eyes were on him. Her head was tilted to the side, her eyes sad. There was something about her now that made me want to cry…made my heart clench and my stomach flip.

Something about her mood was wrong. Something was wrong. I didn't like it…

The music got progressively slower then, then came to a complete stop. I looked down to see that Edward had fallen asleep against me, and I carefully began to move off the bench, but Bella took a step forward to stop me. I gazed up at her, my head tilted to the side.

"Here, let me help," I heard Bella whisper. I nodded, watching as she bent and carefully picked Edward up off the bench. I watched, wide eyed, as she carried him to the couch and put him down.

She turned, looking at me.

"What?" she asked me, confused.

"O-oh…uhm…it's nothing," I lied with a small smile. I saw her face suddenly shift to a frown, but then it became calm and collected again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she whispered.

"Where's Alice?" I asked her then.

"I dunno…I think she went out to go walk in the forest," she told me. I sighed. Why was she gone now when I really wanted to see her the most? "How is he?"

I looked up at Bella again, who was watching me with a meaningful gaze.

"Hmn?"

"How…is he?" she asked me again. "Is he better? Worse?"

"Worse, definitely," I told her, following her with my eyes as she sat down beside Edward on the couch, running her fingers softly through his hair. "He was saying his name in your sleep last night…" She looked up at me, confused. "He…I walked by his room and he was saying your name in his sleep."

"Oh…" she replied, looking down. I could have sworn I heard her whisper, "I know, Jasper…" but I don't think I was supposed to hear it.

"So, uh…" I started to speak again, but Bella looked up at me, puzzled, as though she didn't know what else there was to be said. "I'll just leave him with you," I finished in a rush before I took off out the door to try and find Alice.

**EMPOV**

The day after Edward really started getting sick, I cracked my knuckles as I went into my garage. Oh yes, I was _so_ going to _do_ this…

"So, grease monkey, you finishing my car?" I called as I stepped into the garage, a wide grin on my face. Rosalie turned, smiling at me.

"Yeah, just putting a finish on it," she told me as I walked over. I looked down at it, my eyes bugging out.

"Holy crap, Rose! That's wonderful!" I breathed in awe, leaning down to inspect the area. "Where did it even happen? I can't tell! You're amazing, Rose!"

With that I swept her up in my arms, twirling her around in the air. She laughed in her beautiful wind chime voice, squealing, "No, Emmett, put me down! Put me down!" as I continued to spin her around.

It wasn't long before I put her down, but as soon as her feet touched the ground, I kissed her. Her lips were like cold marble against mine, but she moved them against mine, so I knew they weren't the stone they seemed so much like. It was…amazing, to say the least.

And yet I couldn't quite bring myself to believe it. I was kissing a girl who I'd only met a few days ago, who loved cars, who was now living in my home with my family.

God, this had got to be the best week of my life.

It was then, however, that the door to the garage slammed open and Bella came running into the garage almost like a blur, a sleeping Edward in her arms. Carlisle was right behind them, and he was looking pale, and scared, for the first time that I'd ever seen. The sound of the door slamming made me jump with surprise, causing me to pull away from Rose.

Okay, nix the best week title…

"What's going on?" I called, pulling away from Rosalie, though I did reach down to take her hand.

"It's Edward," Carlisle said as he helped Bella get into the back seat of his car with Edward.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked, going pale, myself. Something was wrong with Edward? I mean, I knew that something was wrong with him, but…I didn't think it was quite that serious… "You mean there's something really wrong with him?"

"Yes," Carlisle answered in a rush. "He just got very worse."

"Do you even care to fill me in?" I asked frantically as he slammed the door to the back of his black car and started to get into the front. I let go of Rosalie's hand and ran over to him as he slammed the door and revved the engine to life. I began knocking on the window of his door until he rolled it down, looking up at me with panicked blue eyes. I saw him press a button up near the rearview mirror, the garage door beginning to lift almost immediately after, but that didn't matter. "Tell me what's going on with Edward!"

"He's not waking up, and his heart beat is slow. Your mother is getting Jasper and Alice, you're going to meet us at the hospital. I love you, and I'll see you soon."

And with that, Carlisle slammed on the gas, the car just barely making it under the opening that the garage door had just made, speeding off down the path.

Wait a minute…something was wrong with Edward…? Seriously wrong?

"…Emmett?"

I jumped at hearing Rosalie's voice beside me, looking over at her. Her eyes were sad.

"Y-yeah?"

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, leaning over to put her arms around me. I tried to relax, to calm down, but my tensed body wouldn't listen. Something was wrong with my little brother…and I didn't know what.

This had to be the worst feeling in the world…

**RPOV**

Emmett shook beneath my touch as I held him in my arms, his own arms shakily coming up to rest around me. As I held him, I put my hand on the back of his neck and closed my eyes, beginning to poking around.

_What's wrong with Edward? Could he die? What does it mean when he's not waking up? Why does everything always have to happen to Jasper or Edward? Why does nothing ever happen to me? I can take whatever the world can throw at me, but the stupid world doesn't seem to realize that. Why doesn't anything ever happen to me? What could be wrong with him? Why is he suddenly so much worse than he had been just yesterday?_

Emmett's thoughts were a mess, but I quickly skimmed past them and began to poke around his mind…his thoughts, his feelings, his memories, everything. I wanted to know more about him, and now was really the only chance I had.

He was scared right now, more than anything, and that made him easier to read.

He loved sports. He loved his Hummer. He loved girls who knew anything about cars or sports, or both, even. He was eye-candy at school. Everyone knew who he was. He'd won awards for sports at school, mainly in strength related competitions. He was nice, sweet…barely ever thought anything mean about anyone.

What made him so special, though? Why did his blood have to smell so…so freakin' _good_?

I took a deep breath then, pulling away from his mind. His scent filled my nose, and I smiled slightly. He was beginning to calm against me. That was good, at least.

"Come on, Emmett…let's go find Esme," I whispered in his ear. He slowly nodded, shakily turning to go walk into the house through the door that Carlisle had left wide open.

I could hear frantic scrambling upstairs, as well as in the livingroom. As we went in, Esme was just throwing things around as she searched for something. I watched her, Emmett doing the same.

"Mom, what're you doing?" Emmett asked her, his face soft and sad.

"I'm looking for Edward's piano composition book," she said quickly in a clipped tone. "He-he'll want it when he wakes up and he's in the hospital, he hates hospitals…"

"Mom," Emmett whispered, going over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Stop, Emmett, I'm really trying to do something here," Esme said, trying to pull away, but Emmett took her shoulder again.

"Mom," Emmett continued, reaching over to pick up a black book off of the bookshelf right by Esme's head, "it's right here…"

Esme stopped, looking over at it. "O-oh…"

"It's where Edward always puts it, Mom…" he whispered, and then she just began to sob. Emmett put his arms around her as she went to clutch at him, and I looked to Emmett.

"I'm going to go find Alice," I whispered, and Emmett nodded in reply. I turned to walk out of the room, leaving the mother and son to have their 'human moment.' I heard footsteps upstairs and ran up the stairs silently, knowing I was safe so that I could use my regular speed to get to Alice's door.

"I know, I know, come in, Rose," Alice called before I even had a chance to knock on the door. I opened it and all I saw was flying clothes. Alice was yanking clothes off of hangers and throwing them behind her, and Jasper was catching them to put them in a bag that was sitting open on the bed. "What're you doing?"

"Packing," she told me. "They're going to be at the hospital for a while."

My eyes went sad. "You've seen it?" I hissed quietly in a nearly silent voice.

Alice just nodded, and my gaze went down.

So, Edward was really going to die.

Well…I didn't think it would be this soon…

Then, suddenly, I froze. Jasper was standing right there. We'd both just been talking about our gifts, right in front of a human. I froze, looking over at Alice, who in turn looked up at me.

"What?" she asked me.

I just swallowed, my eyes slowly slipping to Jasper, who had stopped moving and was watching me with wide eyes. I, however, was probably more scared than he was. The human knew. He _knew_ about us…that was never a good thing.

As I looked over at Alice again, a flash of what I wanted to do, change Jasper right then, right there, flashed across my mind.

"No!" Alice screamed. And then, in barely a second, she was standing in front of Jasper, growling at me. "I will _not_ let you!"

"But he knows, Alice!" I whispered, swallowing. The only thing I was looking for right then was the safety of our little family, just the three of us, and I couldn't find an easy way out.

And, in that word, she realized just what I was saying, too. However, instead of becoming angry, or even scared like me, she just turned and put her arms around Jasper.

"Jasper, I'm so sorry," she whispered as she held him, closing her eyes.

I just watched, knowing that Alice would decide. Whatever Alice decided was best.

I just hope that she knew what she was doing.

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**Okay, so yeah. You guys are getting a chapter sooner than I thought. I saw Twilight today, and I absolutely loved it. I know that some people don't, some even hate it (nearly all of my friends hate it, most of them got to see it opening night, too, as a group, so really I'm alone in my thoughts...), but I suppose that everyone has their opinion. I loved it, regardless, and no one is going to change my mind.**

**But, back to what I was saying, you're getting the chapter earlier than I expected, because seeing Twilight really inspired me to write more fanfictions...so I am! However, I think I burned out all that creativity, so I'm not sure how long it'll be before your next chapter. Hopefully, for you guys, it won't be too long.**

**So, anyway...I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review to tell me what you think, I really want to know!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**There are probably mistakes in here. I apologize for those that are here, I will fix them tomorrow evening…but I really wanted to get this chapter posted tonight, and so I wrote it in a few hours and then put it up here for you to read. Please enjoy!**

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**Chapter 7**

**APOV**

What was I going to do? Jasper…he was everything to me. Nothing else mattered to me at he moment, but what Rosalie had said made a very serious point. Jasper knew now. He knew that something was wrong with us.

I put my arms around Jasper, holding him close to me.

"Jasper, I'm so sorry…" I whispered, holding on to him. His arms came up and around me, clinging to my shirt.

I opened my eyes after a few moments, looking over at Rose. My look told her to come to me, and she did, putting a hand on the exposed skin of my hand.

_Take Emmett and Esme away from here. If you come back, and Jasper and I are not here…it will only be a few days until we return._

Rose watched me with a confused gaze, and a moment later a vision came to my mind of Rose taking Emmett and Esme out to his hummer.

I nodded.

_Yes, that's right. Take them and go. Do it quickly._

Rose nodded, and gave Jasper one last look before she turned, removing her hand from my arm, to walk away and was out of the room in a sudden blur, the bag suddenly gone from on the bed.

"Does…all of that…have to due with why your hands are always so cold?" Jasper whispered in my ear, and I nodded.

"Yes," I whispered.

"And…why you always seem to know what's going to happen before it happens?" he asked. I nodded once again.

"Yes," I whispered.

"And so…you can see the future."

"Once again, yes," I whispered, and Jasper swallowed. I closed my eyes.

"Jasper…I don't…have much of a choice, here," I whispered. I heard a few car doors slam out in the garage, and then I heard it driving away. When it was a long ways away, I continued. "Do you…want to be like me, Jasper?"

"Will I have cool mind powers like you?"

I chuckled sadly, pulling away to look at him.

"Maybe," I whispered. "You can never be sure."

He just nodded.

Then, I saw it as the vision came to my mind. Jasper, a vampire, just like me.

"So your answer is yes?" I asked him, just to make sure.

Jasper nodded again.

"It's really going to hurt," I told him quietly.

"I can take pain," he told me, and slowly, I nodded.

"All right," I whispered, holding him in my arms again. "You probably won't be able to see your family for a long time…"

"I can manage."

I just nodded. I really didn't want to do this to him, but he knew, and if the Volturi discovered that humans knew about us, things wouldn't turn out well at all.

I pressed my lips to his throat, pushing him back on the bed carefully until he was laying down all the way, and I was bent over him. I kissed him on his lips, then again on his neck, my mouth pooling with venom.

"Do you trust me?" I whispered, and he nodded.

"Yes."

"Just remember," I breathed as I poised myself over his neck, "when you're ready to die, and you're just praying for God to end it…it's almost over."

And with that, I opened my jaws and clamped down on the side of his neck.

**RPOV**

We'd been at the hospital for hours already. I was tired of the hospital. It smelled of blood, new and old, and it just made my mouth water. They were running all kinds of tests on Edward, from what I understood, and I had barely seen Carlisle.

Emmett was sitting beside me, his head resting on my shoulder as he slept. I'd finally lulled him to sleep, and I had my arm around him, touching his skin. I was looking through his memories, his feeble, blurry human memories, from all he could remember to now. My eyes went sad as I saw his fear in his memories when Jasper had been kidnapped. I didn't like those memories. I quickly skimmed over them.

I smiled as I reached in his memories where we arrived. He had had eyes only for me…wow, I must have seemed like such a jerk…but that hadn't put him off.

And then, I remembered Jasper. What was Alice doing to him? Had she not decided what to do before I left? I knew she was still undecided when I'd read her mind. There wasn't much that I could really do, though, to help her. Jasper was her la tua cantante, and Emmett was mine. I had to attend to him first…

His scent kept me calm, so calm, in the hospital. Every time Esme began crying beside me, I would reach over and put my other arm around her, and she'd usually cry until she either fell asleep herself, or she just had to get up. When I could, I read through her memories, too, and had just finished going through her mind when a familiar scent reached my nose.

Bella was standing a few feet away, watching me silently.

"Where's Alice?" she asked me.

"I'm not sure," I told her honestly. "She's with Jasper, I know that much…why aren't you with Edward?"

"They kicked me out," she whispered softly. "To do a few things. They said I was becoming a bit too 'looming' and 'overprotective.'"

"You probably were, Bells," I said softly, looking up at him. "Jasper knew."

Bella froze. "What?"

"He knew…about us. Alice and I forgot he was there and started talking about our gifts in front of him. I…don't know what she was planning on doing to him when we left…"

Bella just looked down at me, her expression blank. I wasn't sure what she was thinking, but I wish I did…her eyes looked so tortured…

"So will he become one of us?" she breathed.

"I don't know," I told her gently. "I'm sure we'll be able to find out when we get there." I sighed. "How's Edward?"

"His smell is deteriorating," I heard her tell me, looking down at the ground. "He's getting weaker still…they don't know what's wrong with him. They're thinking is Leukemia, an advanced acute type…"

My eyes went bad. "I'm sorry, Bells…"

"You're not the only one," she whispered. "Trust me."

"Don't worry, Bells," I replied.

"I always do."

**JPOV**

The fire…it was engulfing my entire body, but oddly enough…it didn't quite hurt as much as I thought it would.

The fire, though, was getting stronger. It burned.

For a few moments, the pain seemed to relieve, and I heard her voice.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry, Jasper…if you can hear me…I'm so sorry…"

I wanted to tell her that it was okay, that I wasn't hurting that badly. I wanted to tell her that I was okay with this, but I couldn't move. My body felt like it had weights over everything, and I couldn't even open my eyes. I was frozen in my state of pain, curled up as I was.

"I love you, Jasper, I'm sorry…it'll be over in a few days…I'm sorry…I love you."

And, with that sound in my ears, that beautiful sentiment the last thing to stick in my mind, the fire grew to an inferno.

It was then that I was first tempted to scream…but I wouldn't. I wouldn't scream.

I would not scream, and that was for one sole reason.

Alice.

**EPOV**

It was too bright…way too bright in the room. I groaned, bringing an arm up sluggishly to cover my eyes.

"Edward?"

"Dad…?" I groaned, pushing my eyes open. It was then that I realized that I wasn't in my bed. The pillow behind my head was both firm and conforming, and the mattress below me wasn't mine. Something wasn't write.

"Oh…thank God…Edward, you're awake…"

Slowly, I looked towards where his voice was coming from. "Dad? Wh-where…where am I?"

"You're in the hospital, Edward…three days ago, you wouldn't wake up."

"Three _days_?!" I cried, sitting bolt up right. However, that was a bad idea. A very bad idea. My stomach lurched and I moaned in discomfort. Instantly there was a little container put under my mouth and I began to vomit into it, a pair of hands holding me upright and rubbing my back.

And then, relief. A freezing hand was placed on my forehead, and on the back of my neck.

"Bella," I choked out before I began to vomit again.

"Shhh," I heard her whisper, "it's all right."

I couldn't say anymore, but it wasn't long before, finally, I managed to stop vomiting. The container was removed once the person holding it was sure that I had finished, and I heard my father whisper, "Yes, Edward…three days. You're still very, very sick. I'm surprised you're awake…"

I was confused. "What do you mean?" I asked, my voice rough and grating to my ears as I was helped in drinking a bit of water.

"Your white blood cell count is through the roof. You have a very bad viral infection, as well, in your stomach and lungs…" Carlisle said, carefully watching me.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked, confused. It was then, though, that Carlisle didn't say anything.

"Dad…what's wrong with me?"

**JPOV**

"Just another few minutes…" I heard Alice whisper. The fire was burning. It was so painful…I was ready for it to end. "Just a bit more…and you're done, Jasper…you're going to be so beautiful…"

I could even feel my heart slowing as I heard her speaking. It was becoming slow, lethargic…spaced out.

"Another minute, Jasper…and it'll all be over…"

The fire began to recede, first from my hands, and then from my feet, my arms, my legs, my head…my stomach, and finally, it was just centered around my chest. And then…with one last, heaving pump, my heart stopped and the fire was gone.

With that, I opened my eyes, and I smiled as the first thing I saw was her face, looking down at me.

"Welcome to my world," she whispered. Now, she was so beautiful. More so than before. I could smell sweet cotton candy now, all around me, and knew that it was her…and though I was normally put off by sweets, this was different. I was attracted to the scent, wanted it, needed it, to keep going.

I sat up, looking around. Everything was so _clear_. It was so beautiful now, and though I looked around the room, the only thing that I could really focus on was Alice.

"You're…so beautiful," I whispered, my hand coming up to gently run over her cheek. Her skin was no longer like granite, but it was so soft, so gentle…so natural. Her skin was actually warm to my touch now.

"As are you," she whispered, leaning over to kiss my forehead. She smiled, and suddenly an overpowering feeling of elation washed through me…but it wasn't mind.

I pulled away, blinking rapidly.

"What's wrong?" she asked. I suddenly felt confused.

"You're moodswings are giving me whiplash, stop it," I said suddenly without thinking, and she just watched me with her butterscotch eyes.

"What're you talking about?" she asked me.

"Every time you change…your mood…I can tell," I whispered. "You're confused…" And then, realization. "Stop it!"

"I'm sorry, I can't help it," Alice said with a sheepish little smile. "I think…that that's your gift, Jasper."

"My gift?" I asked, now confused, myself.

"You're 'cool mind power,'" Alice giggled, smiling at me. "Emotions."

She leaned over, then, to kiss my forehead again. "You're so perfect."

"And so are you," I chuckled before I lifted my head to kiss him back.

This didn't seem so bad…

However, it was then that I smelled something so good, so fresh, so appetizing, and my throat burned and ached, something pooling in my mouth. I knew, strangely enough, exactly what was happening to me before I was even able to guess what it really was. I knew what was wrong without having to be told.

I was thirsty.

* * *

**That's it! I hope you liked it!**

**Please leave a review and thanks for reading!**


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